Life
Mathematician Explains Percentage Trick Nearly No One Knows
I cannot believe how easy this is, how have I gone my whole life and not known it?
Ma Fatima Garcia
07.19.21

Math is one of those subjects that will really test your brain.

When we were in school, those math problems really had us thinking.

After we have left school, we would slowly forget all rules and basics of this subject, and we’ll just use calculators or programs to do the hard work.

Most of the time, if you have a business that needs to calculates percentages; you will just have to input the data and watch the program magically show you the answer.

Anna Tarazevich
Source:
Anna Tarazevich

While this is convenient, it’s still better for us to be knowledgeable about the math basics.

Ben Stephens, a copywriter, posted a tweet.

In the said tweet, Stephens posted a “fascinating little life hack” about getting percentages.

The fact is, getting percentages is not that easy.

Pexels/Karolina Grabowska
Source:
Pexels/Karolina Grabowska

Who could have known that a simple tweet can change how we solve percentages?

Ben Stephens’ formula is shown as:

x% of y = y% of x

Seeing x and y’s can make you think that it will be hard to understand but don’t panic yet.

Canva
Source:
Canva

This formula is very simple to understand.

Let’s say x is 4 and y is 75, so that will be 4% of 75 = 75% of 4.

Still not clear? Let’s explain the formula in detail.

For example, 4 percent of 75 will take a bit of time to solve, but wouldn’t it be easier to calculate 75% of 4?

Divide that by 100, and you’ve got the answer which is 3!

That makes 4% of 75 = 3!

Canva
Source:
Canva

Amazing, right? If you think this is just a coincidence, try it with other problems as well.

You’ll be amazed by how easy it is to calculate percentages.

Of course, this tweet went viral and now has 22.5K likes and more than 8,000 retweets!

People were intrigued by the fact that this simple equation can change how we look or rather compute percentages.

Many people tried the viral math solution for themselves, and they were shocked to see how easy it was!

Canva
Source:
Canva

Let’s dig deeper as to why this math trick works.

Let’s start with this equation:

x% of y

This is mathematically represented as

X_ Y
100

So x over 100 is x% of y, multiplied by y where x and y can commute.

Y_ X
100

By understanding this, you’ll see how the math equation works.

Canva
Source:
Canva

Many people were in absolute shock at how easy it is to solve percentages.

Here are some of the hilarious comments about Ben’s tweet.

Twitter @lomharshni asked why our trusted Math teachers let us live without knowing this trick.

Another Twitter user, @van__Oijen tried it himself and posted it, noting the date that Twitter changed his life.

Pixabay
Source:
Pixabay

Twitter user @rhodri was in disbelief because, according to him, he quite likes math and he hasn’t realized this possibility until now.

He’s already 47 by the way!

What’s your first thought when you saw this amazing math trick?

Check out how easy it is to find percentages in the video below – it’s a game changer!

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

Article Sources:
To learn more read our Editorial Standards.
Advertisement