Reply #21: This looks suspiciously like the

[SheilaT]

"proof" that 1=2, which only works if you don't notice that you're at some point dividing my zero.

I remember my math teacher pulling that on my algebra class way back when, and I rather quickly noticed what was going on. He was a little frustrated that I so quickly noticed the flaw in the "proof" (especially since I was merely a decent math student, not one of the class stars) and ignored me. The point of the exercise is to pay careful attention to everything when you manipulate equations.