Re: [math-fun] An infinite number of mathematicians walk into a bar

On Jan 3, 2019, at 8:08 PM, Fred Lunnon <fred.lunnon@gmail.com> wrote:

I don't get it. Assuming 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + ... = -1/12 , surely the bartender will owe them 1/12 of a pint? WFL

The bartender is exploiting a well known weakness with signs in his clientele. You can use this zeta function fact in a twist of the much told story about Gauss summing 1+2+ … +100: “Less well known is the story of Riemann, whose teacher — determined not to run afoul of the trick used by a previous student — asked the students to sum *all* the integers …” -Veit