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A deplorable fallacy – and a minor fault

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2016

Peter Hilton  and
Jean Pedersen
Peter Hilton
Affiliation:
Dept of Mathematical Sciences, SUNY, Binghomton NY 13902-6000 USA
Jean Pedersen
Affiliation:
Dept of Mathematics, SCU, Santa Clara, CA 95053 USA
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Extract

In three earlier articles we drew attention to an astonishing error which appears in several texts in the United States, even some of otherwise very high quality. The error relates to a fallacious procedure for the calculation of the Euler characteristic of a polyhedron, producing, in particular, the extraordinary statement that the Euler characteristic of a torus is 2.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Mathematical Gazette , Volume 78 , Issue 483 , November 1994 , pp. 308 - 311
Copyright
Copyright © The Mathematical Association 1994

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References

1. Peter, Hilton, and Jean, Pedersen, “Discovering, mdifying and solving problems: a case study from the contemplation of polyhedra”, Teaching and Learing: A problem-solving Focus, NCTM (1987), 47–71.Google Scholar
2. Peter, Hilton, and Jean, Pedersen The role of geometry in an integrated curriculum (English title) Wiskunde en Onderwijs, 73 (1993), 48–73.Google Scholar
3. Peter, Hilton, and Jean, Pedersen, “Relating geometry ot arithmetic” (English title) Wiskunde en Onderwijs, to appear.Google Scholar