I stumbled across the following computation proving 2+2=5
Clearly it doesn't, but where is the mistake? I expect that it's a simple one, but I'm even simpler and don't really understand the application of the binomial form to this...
Answer
The error is in the step where the derivation goes from
(4−92)2=(5−92)2
to
(4−92)=(5−92)
In general, if a2=b2 it is not necessarily true that a=b; all you can conclude is that either a=b or a=−b. In this case, the latter is true, because (4−92)=−12 and (5−92)=12. Once you have written down the (false) equation −12=12 it is easy to derive any false conclusion you want.
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