![](https://cdn.thepoke.com/uploads/2024/02/05222851/cow-800x420.png)
The sheer number of people confidently incorrectly answering this maths question is driving Twitter to distraction
Time to get your thinking caps on for this maths question which has been driving Twitter to distraction.
Not because it’s particularly tricky – it might take you a moment or two (it did us) – but because of the sheer number of people getting it confidently incorrect.
someone posted this on threads and almost every answer is wrong i’m going to lose my mind pic.twitter.com/FtOhEeXTwR
β soup (@jasminericegirl) February 19, 2024
Just in case that’s tricky to read, here it is again in full.
And you might like to pause for a moment while you work it out for yourself but who the hell are we to tell you what to do with your time?
Here’s just a flavour of the people who, er, didn’t quite get it (but were so sure they did), shared by @jasminericegirl who said: ‘The math is not mathing at all.’
And there’s more where that came from. Lots more. Over to @jasminericegirl again.
just saw someone quote “it’s $300 and I’m a teacher so I’m right” π
β soup (@jasminericegirl) February 19, 2024
also bunch of people arguing about the semantics of “earn” like come on we all know what the question is asking. math questions in elementary school are phrased exactly like this
β soup (@jasminericegirl) February 19, 2024
and people who are like “well how much money they start off with matters” no the math is the same
β soup (@jasminericegirl) February 19, 2024
let’s assume I start with $0 in my bank
0-800+1000-1100+1300 = ???
and let’s say I start with an arbitrary number like $2,000
2000-800+1000-1100+1300 = 2400
2400 – 2000 (starting number) = ???β soup (@jasminericegirl) February 19, 2024
or you can also do
all sales = 1000 + 1300 = 2300
all expenses = 800 + 1100 = 19002300 – 1900 = ?????
β soup (@jasminericegirl) February 19, 2024
and if this makes it any simpler you can also think of it as 2 separate transactions (which it is)
first transaction: 1000-800 = 200 profit
second transaction: 1300-1100 = 200 profit200 + 200 = ???
just work it out you’re almost there
β soup (@jasminericegirl) February 20, 2024
“they’re losing $100 in profit in the second purchase” NO!!!!!! you guys are double counting the $100 i’m going to go crazy
ok picture this
you have $0
you borrow $800 from your credit card to buy a cow
you sell it for $1000, this goes into your bank
you borrow another $1100β¦
β soup (@jasminericegirl) February 20, 2024
“the number is different if you don’t start with $0” NO IT’S NOT PICTURE THIS
you have $5000 in your bank
you spend $800 to buy a cow = $4200 bank balance
you sell it for $1000 = $5200 bank balance
you spend another $1100 to buy the cow back = $4100 bank balance
you sell itβ¦
β soup (@jasminericegirl) February 20, 2024
if you won’t believe me maybe you’ll believe chatgpt pic.twitter.com/kkjO9sE2w7
β soup (@jasminericegirl) February 20, 2024
$400? (pls no yelling if Iβm wrong; Iβm a fragile piece of bacon)
β WhoseBacon (@WhoseBacon) February 19, 2024
i love how everyone commenting the right answer here is like 400…? maybe i’m wrong..? and everyone commenting the wrong answer is completely confident
β soup (@jasminericegirl) February 19, 2024
We’re with the great Mark Watson.
I don’t understand how anyone doesn’t get $400 here (which IS the right answer, I’ve checked the original thread). You just work out the total takings and subtract the spends. How else could you possibly approach it? And I’m not a maths guy. https://t.co/stDqQ3u8Io
β Mark Watson (@watsoncomedian) February 20, 2024
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Source @jasminericegirl Image Pexels