Mistakes in mathematical reasoning can range from outlandish blunders to deep and subtle oversights that evade even the most watchful eye. This book represents the second collection of such errors to be compiled by Edward Barbeau. Like Barbeau's previous book, Mathematical Fallacies, Flaws and Flimflam, material is drawn from a variety of sources including the work of students, textbooks, the media, and even professional mathematicians. The errors presented here serve both to entertain, and to emphasise the need to subject even the most 'obvious' assertions to rigorous scrutiny, as intuition and facile reasoning can often be misleading. Each item is carefully analysed and the source of the error is exposed. All students and teachers of mathematics, from school to university level, will find this book both enlightening and entertaining.

Author Biography

Professor Edward Barbeau received his doctorate from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. He was a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University and later taught at the University of Toronto. He was named Fellow of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education in 1989, and has received the David Hilbert Award from the World Federation of National Mathematics Competitions and the Adrien Pouliot Award from the Canadian Mathematical Society. He has published a number of books with MAA and Springer and has presented three radio broadcasts.