Can You Figure Out the Math Problem That’s Been Driving Japan Crazy?

Epoch Newsroom
5/11/2016
Updated:
5/16/2016

The latest math problem to go viral on the Internet is actually a lot harder than it looks at first glance.

The problem went viral in Japan after a recent study found only 60 percent of people between the ages of 21 and 29 could get the correct answer--down from 90 percent in the ‘80s.

Despite appearing simple, Presh Talwalker of Mind Your Decisions noted what fooled most people.

“You should write an expression that groups one third as one group,” he said. 

“Three divided by one third is equal to nine, and now we have nine minus nine, plus one.”

The solution harkens back to an acronym some likely learned in school: Bodmas, or Brackets, open; divide; multiply; add; and subtract, in that order.