Everything Wrong in the World Today Comes Down to One Single Math Equation
I can’t believe that is has officially been over 4 years since my last stoic rant.
I guess I ‘ve been so preoccupied writing about blockchain, crypto and decentralization for my business blog, the Decent Millionaire, that I’ve completely neglected this personal blog.
After the left side of my brain spent the last few years monopolizing my keyboard, I thought today would be a good day to let the right side shine.
Well, sort of.
This right-brain blog post is actually inspired by one of the most left-brain attributes in existence, a mathematical equation.
The other day the following math problem was circulating around social media, begging for a solution:
8 ÷ 2(2 + 2) = ?
Since the left side of my brain always enjoys a good algebra challenge, I decided to solve the equation in my head.
I, along with many others, easily came up with the answer of 1.
8 ÷ 2(4) = 1
This was not a difficult math problem to solve - especially not for someone who received a 99% on her Algebra Regents.
Imagine my dismay when I learned that, although one hundred years ago the correct answer was indeed 1, the correct answer today is 16.
8 ÷ 2 = 4: 4 X 4 = 16
Putting aside the fact that I am far from 100 years old, algebra is not subjective. There can never be two answers to such a simple algebraic equation - no matter how much time passes.
2 + 2 has always and will always equal 4 regardless of who is counting or what brand of calculator is used.
That is the beauty of math. It has always been one of the very few disciplines not open to debate. Math doesn’t care about one’s feelings, ideology or opinions.
Yet, suddenly in order for one to come to the conclusion that 8 ÷ 2(2 + 2) = 16, one must now assume that a parenthesis exists around 8 ÷ 2 when there is none.
The fact that today’s scholars have changed the rules of algebra by allowing for such assumptions is not only dangerous, it is indicative of everything wrong in the world today.
The algebra used to determine that 8 ÷ 2(2 + 2) equals 1 is the very same algebra that was relied on to construct mankind’s most magnificent bridges, tunnels and architecture.
Are these older structures suddenly no longer sound? Or is this new assumption-based math the reason why today’s buildings are slower to erect and aesthetically less appealing?
Don’t believe me? Do a little research and you will find pictures of spectacular court houses, schools and even insane asylums that were constructed all across America in the mid to late 1800s - long before the existence of power tools and 18 wheelers.
I wish I had answers, as conclusive as real math, to these great architectural mysteries.
But I do not.
All I know for certain is that in a world rapidly unraveling by deceit, math is one of the last bastions of truth which warrants our protection.
So, this is interesting. Without reading further and looking at the equation, I honestly pondered if the answer is 1 or 16. My knee-jerk answer was 1 of course. But then I second-guessed myself since I thought maybe it's a trick question. So I played it out this way. In the equation 8/2(2+2), of course you solve inside the parenthesis first, so you get 8/2x4. So now the division and the multiplication have same priority, so 8/2x4 = 4x4 = 16.