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‘Easy’ math problem causes major internet debate
I really thought I knew the answer!
Jessica
08.14.20

People will argue about anything on the Internet – even a math equation.

Perhaps you’ve seen the headlines and been tempted to see how your smarts stack up.

“Only 1 in 1,000,000 people can solve this simple equation.”

Of course you want to click on it – we’re programmed to want to be among that special group of people who can solve the problem – especially if we’ve already been told it’s easy.

But this equation is anything but straightforward. In fact, it’s designed to rile people up. Even people with mathematics degrees got into fights over how to answer it.

The “simple equation” in question:

8 ÷ 2 (2+2) = ?

@LifeOfJay98/Twitter
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@LifeOfJay98/Twitter

We tend to think of math as objective – there’s always a right answer. But in this case, it’s more complicated. Hence the online arguments, even among professionals.

Some people insist the answer is 1, while others swear that it’s 16.

@ClassyXhakalaca/Twitter
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@ClassyXhakalaca/Twitter

People are taking things VERY personally.

And you can’t tell them they’re answer is wrong, no matter what.

@ChrisPetersBITW/Twitter
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@ChrisPetersBITW/Twitter

Most of us know it’s pointless to argue with people on the Internet, but it doesn’t stop some folks from trying.

If you’re the kind of person who likes to sit back and laugh at the drama, observe the following:

Some “geniuses” were convinced that not only is math objective but that calculators are totally objective machines that always produce the right answer (instead of simply being tools that are only as good as the information a human enters into them).

@celestiallight_/Twitter
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@celestiallight_/Twitter

So much for that idea!

@RandomMess_0/Twitter
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@RandomMess_0/Twitter

Despite this very clearly being an equation written specifically to rile people up, Internet “experts” continued the drama.

@TheBigliestBoy/Twitter
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@TheBigliestBoy/Twitter

Somehow insulting other people failed to resolve anything. What a surprise.

In reality, there are two ways to solve the problem, and each leads to a different answer.

If you learned the “order of operations” rule in elementary school: “Please excuse my dear Aunt Sally,” or PEMDAS, which stands for Parentheses Exponents Multiplication Division Addition Subtraction, then the answer is 1.

But PEMDAS is not a mathematical law, it’s just a convention. Even mathematicians argue about whether or not to use it in every case.

The answer to 8 ÷ 2(2+2) = ? depends on how you choose to solve it.

While everyone agrees that the 2+2 in parentheses should be calculated first, they disagree over whether the division or multiplication comes next.

If you’re not following PEDMAS, then you were likely taught the convention of working left to right, in which case you get 16 as your answer.

The equation only has a clear-cut answer if we all agree to use the same convention to solve it. And clearly we don’t!

@lauram_williams/Twitter
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@lauram_williams/Twitter

@RealMarkAdams/Twitter
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@RealMarkAdams/Twitter

Apparently, everyone forgot that we’ve been through this before in 2013 when a similar equation started a math war:

6 ÷ 2 (1+2) = ?

The website Slate addressed our willingness to engage in these kinds of debates. They found that part of the issue was that the Internet has become a place where people expect to argue – so they do.

And others just love to prove how smart they are, so they’ll take any opportunity to do it.

Pixabay
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Pixabay

To top it off, our egos are too big to admit we’re wrong. So we tend to just double down on whatever we’ve been saying all along without letting new information sway us.

But the joke’s on those who argued that there was one “right” answer.

Why?

Because these equations are written terribly.

In a New York Times op-ed, Steven Strogatz, a professor of mathematics at Cornell said:

“No professional mathematician would ever write something so obviously ambiguous. We would insert parentheses to indicate our meaning and to signal whether the division should be carried out first, or the multiplication.”

Sorry to say that if you were using this equation to prove to family and friends that you’re a genius, you’re going to have to find another way.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

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