We have to agree that mathematics isn’t most people’s favorite school subject. It’s hard, sometimes confusing, and rather challenging, especially concepts like algebra, trigonometry, and calculus.
However, one would assume that any grown-up should be able to provide the right answer to a question expected kids to solve.
Well, this seems to be far from the obvious as a seemingly simple math question posted by a Reddit user caused quite a stir on the social media as people fail to agree what the correct answer might be.
The user who posted the challenging question explained that it made him scratch his head trying to figure out which of the four time options given was closest to midnight.
The answers given were as follows:
- A) 11.55am
- B) 12.06am
- C) 11.50am
- D) 12.03am
“What do you think?” the poster wrote along with the math problem.
As expected, this prompted various answers and interpretations.
Plenty of netizens were convinced that the correct answer is A, and there were those who believed choosing that answer didn’t make any sense, wondering how did they come to that conclusion, with a person writing, “Lmao how are y’all saying A that’s almost midday.”
Those opting for A, however, were quick to provide various explanations, with someone writing “IT SAYS CLOSEST [TO] MIDNIGHT…NOT AFTER MIDNIGHT. A.”
“The question structure is ‘to’ midnight not ‘from’ midnight. Wouldn’t A be correct since time doesn’t go backward?” a confused user asked.
Someone else agreed that the way the question was worded was what caused confusion. “The ‘trick’ intended by the thread starter seems to rely on deliberate ambiguity in language. If I tell four friends ‘get here as close to midnight as you can,’ the one arriving at 11:55am doesn’t win,” someone wrote.
A lot of people stick with D as the correct answer, though. Their reasoning? “Assuming it’s a trick question about semantics, Closest time ‘to’ midnight is 11:55 AM. At 12:03, it’s already past midnight. Closest time ‘from’ midnight would be 12:03 AM,” someone commented. “12:03 is only 3 minutes away from midnight, making it the closest of the given times. I’ve never heard anyone use the phrase “close to” to mean anything other than this interpretation,” another used added.
What about you? Is this question giving you a headache too?
Tell us what you think the right answer is in the comment section below.
