Different methods to compute $\sum\limits_{k=1}^\infty \frac{1}{k^2}$ (Basel problem) As I have heard people did not trust Euler when he first discovered the formula (solution of the Basel problem)
$$\zeta(2)=\sum_{k=1}^\infty \frac{1}{k^2}=\frac{\pi^2}{6}.$$
However, Euler was Euler and he gave other proofs. 

I believe many of you know some nice proofs of this, can you please share it with us?
OK, here's my favorite. I thought of this after reading a proof from the book "Proofs from the book" by Aigner &amp; Ziegler, but later I found more or less the same proof as mine in a paper published a few years earlier by Josef Hofbauer. On Robin's list, the proof most similar to this is number 9
(EDIT: ...which is actually the proof that I read in Aigner &amp; Ziegler).

When $0 &lt; x &lt; \pi/2$ we have $0&lt;\sin x &lt; x &lt; \tan x$ and thus
$$\frac{1}{\tan^2 x} &lt; \frac{1}{x^2} &lt; \frac{1}{\sin^2 x}.$$
Note that $1/\tan^2 x = 1/\sin^2 x - 1$.
Split the interval $(0,\pi/2)$ into $2^n$ equal parts, and sum
the inequality over the (inner) "gridpoints" $x_k=(\pi/2) \cdot (k/2^n)$:
$$\sum_{k=1}^{2^n-1} \frac{1}{\sin^2 x_k} - \sum_{k=1}^{2^n-1} 1 &lt; \sum_{k=1}^{2^n-1} \frac{1}{x_k^2} &lt; \sum_{k=1}^{2^n-1} \frac{1}{\sin^2 x_k}.$$
Denoting the sum on the right-hand side by $S_n$, we can write this as
$$S_n - (2^n - 1) &lt; \sum_{k=1}^{2^n-1} \left( \frac{2 \cdot 2^n}{\pi} \right)^2 \frac{1}{k^2} &lt; S_n.$$

Although $S_n$ looks like a complicated sum, it can actually be computed fairly easily. To begin with,
$$\frac{1}{\sin^2 x} + \frac{1}{\sin^2 (\frac{\pi}{2}-x)} = \frac{\cos^2 x + \sin^2 x}{\cos^2 x \cdot \sin^2 x} = \frac{4}{\sin^2 2x}.$$
Therefore, if we pair up the terms in the sum $S_n$ except the midpoint $\pi/4$ (take the point $x_k$ in the left half of the interval $(0,\pi/2)$ together with the point $\pi/2-x_k$ in the right half) we get 4 times a sum of the same form, but taking twice as big steps so that we only sum over every other gridpoint; that is, over those gridpoints that correspond to splitting the interval into $2^{n-1}$ parts. And the midpoint $\pi/4$ contributes with $1/\sin^2(\pi/4)=2$ to the sum. In short,
$$S_n = 4 S_{n-1} + 2.$$
Since $S_1=2$, the solution of this recurrence is
$$S_n = \frac{2(4^n-1)}{3}.$$
(For example like this: the particular (constant) solution $(S_p)_n = -2/3$ plus the general solution to the homogeneous equation $(S_h)_n = A \cdot 4^n$, with the constant $A$ determined by the initial condition $S_1=(S_p)_1+(S_h)_1=2$.)

We now have
$$ \frac{2(4^n-1)}{3} - (2^n-1) \leq  \frac{4^{n+1}}{\pi^2} \sum_{k=1}^{2^n-1} \frac{1}{k^2}  \leq \frac{2(4^n-1)}{3}.$$
Multiply by $\pi^2/4^{n+1}$ and let $n\to\infty$. This squeezes the partial sums between two sequences both tending to $\pi^2/6$. Voilà!
The following proof is by Khalaf Ruhemi ( he is not a MSE member)
By partial fraction decomposition, we have
$$\frac{y}{(1+y^2)(y^2+x^2)}=\frac{1}{x^2-1}\left(\frac{y}{1+y^2}-\frac{y}{y^2+x^2}\right).$$
Integrate both sides from $y=0$ to $y=\infty$,
\begin{gather*}
\int_0^\infty\frac{y}{(1+y^2)(y^2+x^2)}\mathrm{d}y=\frac{1}{x^2-1}\int_0^\infty\left[\frac{y}{1+y^2}-\frac{y}{y^2+x^2}\right]\mathrm{d}y\\
=\frac{1}{x^2-1}\left[\frac12\ln(1+y^2)-\frac12\ln(y^2+x^2)\right]_0^\infty=\frac{1}{2(x^2-1)}\left[\ln\left(\frac{1+y^2}{y^2+x^2}\right)\right]_0^\infty\\
=\frac{1}{2(x^2-1)}\left[\ln(1)-\ln\left(\frac{1}{x^2}\right)\right]=\frac{1}{2(x^2-1)}\left[2\ln(x)\right]=\frac{\ln(x)}{x^2-1}.
\end{gather*}
Next, integrate both sides from $x=0$ to $x=\infty$
\begin{gather*}
\int_0^\infty\frac{\ln(x)}{x^2-1}\mathrm{d}x=\int_0^\infty\int_0^\infty\frac{y}{(1+y^2)(y^2+x^2)}\mathrm{d}y\,\mathrm{d}x\\
\{\text{change the order of integration}\}\\
=\int_0^\infty\frac{1}{1+y^2}\left[\int_0^\infty\frac{y\,\mathrm{d}y}{y^2+x^2}\right]\mathrm{d}y\\
=\int_0^\infty\frac{1}{1+y^2}\left[\arctan\left(\frac{x}{y}\right)\right]_0^\infty dy=\int_0^\infty\frac{1}{1+y^2}\left[\frac{\pi}{2}-0\right] \mathrm{d}y\\
=\frac{\pi}{2}\int_0^\infty\frac{1}{1+y^2} dy=\frac{\pi}{2}\arctan(y)\bigg|_0^\infty=\frac{\pi}{2}\cdot\frac{\pi}{2}=\frac{\pi^2}{4}.
\end{gather*}
Thus,
\begin{gather*}
\frac{\pi^2}{4}=\int_0^\infty\frac{\ln(x)}{x^2-1}\mathrm{d}x=\left(\int_0^1+\int_1^\infty\right)\frac{\ln(x)}{x^2-1}\mathrm{d}x\\
=\int_0^1\frac{\ln(x)}{x^2-1}\mathrm{d}x+\underbrace{\int_1^\infty\frac{\ln(x)}{x^2-1}\mathrm{d}x}_{x\to1/x}\\
=2\int_0^1\frac{\ln(x)}{x^2-1}\mathrm{d}x=-\int_0^1\frac{\ln(x)}{1-x}\mathrm{d}x-\int_0^1\frac{\ln(x)}{1+x}\mathrm{d}x\\
\left\{\text{use $\frac{1}{1+x}=\frac{1}{1-x}-\frac{2x}{1-x^2}$ in the second integral}\right\}\\
=-2\int_0^1\frac{\ln(x)}{1-x}\mathrm{d}x+2\underbrace{\int_0^1\frac{x\ln(x)}{1-x^2}\mathrm{d}x}_{x^2\to x}\\
=-2\int_0^1\frac{\ln(x)}{1-x}\mathrm{d}x+\frac12\int_0^1\frac{\ln(x)}{1-x}\mathrm{d}x\\
=-\frac32\int_0^1\frac{\ln(x)}{1-x}\mathrm{d}x\overset{1-x\to y}{=}-\frac32\int_0^1\frac{\ln(1-y)}{y}\mathrm{d}y\\
\{\text{expand $\ln(1-y)$ in series}\}\\
=\frac32\sum_{n=1}^\infty \frac{1}{n}\int_0^1 y^{n-1}\mathrm{d}y=\frac32\sum_{n=1}^\infty\frac{1}{n^2}=\frac{3}{2}\zeta(2).
\end{gather*}
So we have
$$\frac{\pi^2}{4}=\frac{3}{2}\zeta(2)\Longrightarrow \zeta(2)=\frac{\pi^2}{6}.$$