Can the Sum of Natural Numbers Really Be -1/12?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Brucezhou
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Natural Sum
AI Thread Summary
A Cambridge University professor has presented a proof claiming that the sum of natural numbers equals -1/12, which challenges the conventional understanding that this sum is infinite. While some find the proof absurd, it may offer a new mathematical framework for expressing infinity in a finite manner. This concept could have implications for modern physics and other fields. The discussion has been closed due to an ongoing thread on the same topic. The exploration of this proof continues to generate interest and debate in the mathematical community.
Brucezhou
Messages
18
Reaction score
0
A professor in Cambridge University has showed his proof that the sum of natural number was equal to -1/12. The video can be found on the internet.Well, although the way to proof I think is really ridiculous, it could be a good way to building a new math model. Since we think the sum of natural number is infinity, but that professor proved it equal to a finite number, so maybe this model can express infinity in finite way. Finally, a lot of modern problems about physics and many other fields.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
I am closing this thread because there's an ongoing thread on this very topic. See [thread]732197[/thread].
 
I was reading documentation about the soundness and completeness of logic formal systems. Consider the following $$\vdash_S \phi$$ where ##S## is the proof-system making part the formal system and ##\phi## is a wff (well formed formula) of the formal language. Note the blank on left of the turnstile symbol ##\vdash_S##, as far as I can tell it actually represents the empty set. So what does it mean ? I guess it actually means ##\phi## is a theorem of the formal system, i.e. there is a...
Back
Top