Volume 3, Number 49
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7 December 1998 Vol. 3, No. 49
THE MATH FORUM INTERNET NEWS
Glossary of Mathematical Mistakes | Classic Fallacies | The Why Files
GLOSSARY OF MATHEMATICAL MISTAKES - Paul Cox
http://www.psn.net/~xocxoc/math/glossary.htm
Paul Cox's list of common mathematical mistakes committed
by advertisers, the media, reporters, politicians, activists,
and others. Cox analyzes everything from circular reasoning,
graph errors, and spurious use of the law of averages to
"factorectomy," gestalt geometry, and the "Kevin Bacon" game
(six degrees of separation). Examples include:
- Aftermath Counting (Dewdney) - what the press has a
tendency to do after a major disaster - the counting of
known casualties from the police, paramedics, hospitals,
and morgues, without considering duplication...
- Gambler's Ruin - if a gambler stays in a casino long
enough he will eventually lose all of his money. This is
why casinos can pay out millions in winnings and still
stay in business...
- The Object D'art Graph - A graph that lacks a standardized
y-axis in order to hide what the graph is really saying.
It can be a pretty graph suitable for framing but in fact
is absolutely useless...
- Logical Fallacies - if you want to deceive the majority of
the people, use some of these in your arguments. (Note that
these are used consistently by politicians, lawyers, and
advertisers)...
- "Looks Like" Geometry - the tendency to find significance
in insignificant geometric patterns. The best example is
the "Face on Mars"...
Cox also accepts and discusses examples submitted by readers,
which include the Monty Hall problem and Zohnerism (named for
the student who petitioned to ban dihydrogen monoxide). See
his Mistake of the Month with its archive, the Raw Data
(the math behind the mistakes); Problems and Puzzles
(in arithmetic, geometry, and algebra); and sources and links.
http://www.mathmistakes.com
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CLASSIC FALLACIES - Philip Spencer
http://www.math.toronto.edu/mathnet/falseProofs/fallacies.html
Mathematical "proofs" demonstrating that 1 = 2, that all
people in Canada are the same age, that a ladder will fall
infinitely fast when pulled, and that every natural number
can be unambiguously described in fourteen words or less.
Each proof consists of several steps that allow readers to
look for the flaw, and then explain why it is or is not in
that step.
A printed version of this material, suitable for use as a
classroom module, is available from the site.
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THE WHY FILES - University of Wisconsin
http://whyfiles.news.wisc.edu/
An electronic exploration of the issues of science, math,
and technology that lurk behind the headlines of the day.
Included are a bimonthly feature on the science of everyday
life, archived files, discussion forums, sports science and
puzzles, and science images.
Search the site for math to find such pages as:
- Coping with Multiples (massive multiple math quiz)
http://whyfiles.news.wisc.edu/053multi_birth/4.html
- Counting Bacteria
http://whyfiles.news.wisc.edu/shorties/count_bact.html
- Fantastic Fractals
http://whyfiles.news.wisc.edu/046sci_project/fractal.html
- Random Is as Random Does
http://whyfiles.news.wisc.edu/009poll/random.html
- Serious Statistical Secrets
http://whyfiles.news.wisc.edu/009poll/math_primer.html
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