The Language Of All Sciences

We live in an age where information can become readily available at the touch of a screen. While it may seem like a clear advantage having that abundance of knowledge simply dangling in your pocket, we seem to rely less and less on our natural ability to remember important details of a topic already discussed, such as mathematics.

Besides the infinite wealth of information, the internet has turned into a battlefield of ideologies and ego-fueled argumentations. This became incredibly apparent when someone decided to make an online post about a math equation that has sparked a fiery clash surrounding the true answer.

To no-one’s surprise, the number of divisive responses we got was eye-catching enough to get us reading with popcorn on one hand and a calculator on the other.

The math equation that sparked the heated discussion is 8 ÷ 2(2+2) = ? ÷ 2(2+2) =? Seems like a an alphabet soup of numbers to one that has been out of touch with recent algebraic math problems. However, to the mathematically savvy person, this should seem like a decently simple task to complete.

Apparently not. The person who originally posted the equation claimed that one in a million people can solve this equation. And that, ladies and gentlemen, was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Not As Easy As It Seems

In a flash, people near and far began working on the equation and posted their own responses. Off the bat, there was a significant amount of differing answers mainly circling between 1 and 16. Some people went old school and decided to solve the equation with the paper and pencil method. Others went the route of most efficiency for the sake of time and used a calculator. Even with the various method used, not everyone was able to come up with the same answer.

Politics and social issues seem to have taken a backseat as people were now trying to get to the bottom of this mathematical mystery. There is no shortage of people trying to prove they’re right. I mean, after all, we are all trying to seek the clearest perspective of truth we can, right?

Some professionals have decided to jump on the wagon and chime in with their opinions. Take, for instance, psychologists who are not weighing in on the responses of the equation, but rather the snowballing feud that’s being propelled by people who want to prove they are smarter than anyone else.

An academic at the University of Chicago, Sian Bielock, states that “These debates of who’s right and who’s wrong make people feel like jerks at the end once they realize they are investing too much time and energy convincing others why their answer is the best one.” Additionally, Beilock mentions that “Often people feel the most stressed when the audience is made up of people they know. It’s very painful to fall on your face in front of your friends and family.” Very wisely put, Bielock.

Agree To Disagree

Most people that commented agreed that the numbers within the parenthesis should be the first step to execute in the process of solving the equation. The difficulty then lurks in when the next step has to be determined. Is it multiplication or division first? That’s where the bulk of this equation battle lies in. People that use standard conventions would say since you are going from left to right, that would make the answer 16.

Not according to one professor of mathematics from the University of Cornell. This professor states that “No professional mathematician would ever write something so obviously ambiguous. We would insert parenthesis to indicate our meaning and to signal whether the division should be carried out first or the multiplication.”

Regardless of where you stand in this equation debate, one thing is for sure: arguing about who is right and who is wrong won’t lead us closer to the correct answer. Maybe people can take that lesson away from this post and really internalize it in their everyday life to break the division platforms can create and start multiplying ways to pull our heads together and get to solving.

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Source: Heavy, Shareably-Cedric Jackson