Adam and Heather Hayes

I've always liked math, and so I thought I'd share a little problem with you.

The following problem seems to follow all "normal" math rules. However,  it shows how if we are not careful, we can let what was 1=1 become 2=1. First let x= y = 1. 

1. x  =  y
2. x²  =  xy
3. x² - y²  =  xy - y²
4. (x + y)(x - y)  =  y(x - y)
5. x + y = y
6. 2 = 1

Now I don't want you to pull your kid out of their math class because all of a sudden math is lying to you. There is a perfectly logical reason this "proof" doesn't work. 

For you out there that are scratching your heads, don't worry, you are in good company. The problem lies in step 5 where they have divided by (x-y) to get what you have remaining in step 5. However, this is the reason you CAN'T DIVIDE BY 0. It just messes things up. (How was that for a technical response.)