<s>[INST] A misbehaved Power Series (contradiction with ln(2)) 
Possible Duplicate:
Explain why calculating this series could cause paradox? 

Using the power series expansion $\ln(x+1)=\sum _{k=1}^\infty \frac{(-1)^{k+1}}{k}x^k$ we have $\ln(2)=(1-\frac{1}{2})+(\frac{1}{3}-\frac{1}{4})+\cdots+(\frac{1}{2k-1}-\frac{1}{2k})+\cdots=\sum _{k=1}^\infty (\frac{1}{2k-1}-\frac{1}{2k})$. Let's rearrange the terms of this sequence so that two negative terms follow each positive term:
$\ln(2)=(1-\frac{1}{2}-\frac{1}{4})+(\frac{1}{3}-\frac{1}{6}-\frac{1}{8})+\cdots+(\frac{1}{2k-1}-\frac{1}{4k-2}-\frac{1}{4k})+\cdots=\sum _{k=1}^\infty (\frac{1}{2k-1}-\frac{1}{4k-2}-\frac{1}{4k})$. However, $\frac{1}{2k-1}-\frac{1}{4k-2}-\frac{1}{4k}=\frac{1}{2}(\frac{1}{2k-1}-\frac{1}{2k})$; therefore, $\sum _{k=1}^\infty (\frac{1}{2k-1}-\frac{1}{4k-2}-\frac{1}{4k})=\frac{1}{2}\sum _{k=1}^\infty (\frac{1}{2k-1}-\frac{1}{2k})$, but how can the latter inequality hold if $\sum _{k=1}^\infty (\frac{1}{2k-1}-\frac{1}{2k})$ and $\sum _{k=1}^\infty (\frac{1}{2k-1}-\frac{1}{4k-2}-\frac{1}{4k})$ are equal to $\ln(2)$?
Feel free to come up with a better title...
 [/INST] You have rediscovered the difference between absolute convergence and conditional convergence, and the fact that rearrangement of conditionally convergent series can alter the sum.
If the sum of the positive terms and the sum of the negative terms are both finite, then the series converges absolutely and rearrangement won't change the sum.
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