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This Simple Math Problem Drove Our Entire Staff Insane. Can You Solve It?

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2022-05-18 05:00:09

Gear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. We may earn commission if you buy from a link. How we test gear.

Every few months, the Internet eats itself over some kind of viral riddle or illusion, each more infuriating than the last. And so, like clockwork, this maddening math problem has gone viral, following in the grand tradition of such traumatic events as The Dress and Yanny/Laurel.

These kinds of conundrums are purposely meant to divide and conquer, and predictably, the seemingly simple problem posed in the offending tweet—8÷2(2+2)—practically caused a civil war in the Popular Mechanics office, which we also share with our (former) friends at Runner’s World and Bicycling magazines.

Naturally, we took to Slack to hash out our differences. Here’s a heated chat between the editors who stopped doing any semblance of actual work for the day to solve an equation designed to flummox fourth graders—and make many enemies in the process—followed by insight from real mathematicians and physicists who begrudgingly responded to our request for comment to solve the enraging math debate, once and for all.

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