Comment Re:1 = -1 Solution (Score 1) 1965
As with many problems that stump people for a long time, the fault is in the first step. You are squaring a quantity without taking care to consider the direction. Think of the diffrence between performing math on a scalar versus performaing math on a vector.
If you do this proof with a unit vector in the positive x direction (aka 1) and a unit vector in the negative x direction (aka -1) the math will NOT say that they are equal, no matter how you manipulate them.
If you do this proof with a unit vector in the positive x direction (aka 1) and a unit vector in the negative x direction (aka -1) the math will NOT say that they are equal, no matter how you manipulate them.
