The internet has been arguing over a math problem that seems simple but somehow caused total chaos. It’s the equation 8 ÷ 2(2 + 2), and even now, people still don’t agree on the answer.
The problem first went viral in 2019 when someone posted it online and asked others to solve it. From there, it spread across Twitter and other platforms, with people picking sides over what the real answer is.
Even editors at a popular magazine got into it and couldn’t agree. Some of them believed the correct way to solve it was by following PEMDAS, the order of operations taught in school.
Using that method, you first solve inside the parentheses, so 2 + 2 becomes 4. That leaves 8 ÷ 2 x 4. Since multiplication and division are done left to right, 8 ÷ 2 is 4, then 4 x 4 equals 16.
But not everyone agrees with that. Some say the expression should be read as 8 ÷ 2(4), and that makes it a different problem.
One editor said that in his math class, anything directly next to parentheses meant it should be multiplied before dividing. So instead of going left to right, he thought it should be 8 divided by 8, which gives you 1.
As more people jumped in, including scientists and math experts, the debate got even louder. One math expert from a professional group said the right answer is 16 if you strictly follow the order of operations.
Still, he admitted the problem isn’t totally clear. He said: “In math, a lot of times, there are ambiguities. Mathematicians try to make rules as precise as possible. According to the strict order of operations, you’d get 16, but I wouldn’t hit someone on the wrist with a ruler if they said 1.”
Another professor added that it comes down to convention and how math is written. He said: “This is convention. We have conventions on how to write these things, just like we have conventions on how to spell stuff. But still, there are different conventions. Some people spell it as ‘gray’ and others as ‘grey.’ We still understand what’s going on.”
In his opinion, the equation should have just been written as 8/(2*(2+2)), which would make it clear and result in 1. And maybe then the internet could finally move on.