There have been numerous math problems going viral on the Internet in recent times, but none of them as tough to solve as this one. Take a look at what’s written on the board – do you know the answer?
The math problem was first shared on Twitter by @pjmdoll.
oomfies solve this pic.twitter.com/0RO5zTJjKk
— ❦ (@pjmdolI) July 28, 2019
People had different answers, but no one could get it right.
oomfies solve this pic.twitter.com/0RO5zTJjKk
— ❦ (@pjmdolI) July 28, 2019
According to Mike Breen from the American Mathematical Society, the way the math problem was written was ambiguous. Ambiguities in math are not a new thing, but mathematicians like to make the rules as precise as possible.
oomfies solve this pic.twitter.com/0RO5zTJjKk
— ❦ (@pjmdolI) July 28, 2019
After hundreds of wild guesses, a mathematician finally solved the riddle. She replied to the tweet saying that the number is (like Breen guessed correctly) ambiguous. It can be either 1 or 16. The order of the puzzle doesn’t go from left to right or multiplication before division – it can go either way. Mathematicians try to avoid such ambiguities when writing expressions. She also shared an example and some alternatives.
