I'm not bummed so much by the fact that people cannot solve a simple equation
But by how nasty they get defending their wrong answers, or attacking the people who got it wrong.
For example, there is a posting going around Facebook about how to solve the equation 7+7/7+7x7-7
Many people choose the wrong answer because they don't apply something that was, or should have been, taught back in elementary school - PEMDAS (Parentheses, Exponentiation, Multiplication, Division, Addition, and Subtraction). Instead, they blindly solve left to right.
OK, fine. Math is hard for some people. We need better education to help people with fundamental skills like reading, writing, and arithmetic. And beyond that, we have to accept a certain portion of the population is developmentally disabled. Their brain, due to physical defect or emotional trauma, will never be able to solve mathematic equations.
No, what is really troubling is the name calling that goes on with those threads. We expect, even DEMAND, world peace, yet people don't realize that world peace has to start at the root. Until we have peace between individuals, we won't have a broader peace.
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because I didn't even read the problem correctly.
(I don't recall having been taught that particular acronym, although the answer is fifty) I usually look at such things as nothing more than a means to have a little mental play-time or gymnastics. Personally, I'd much rather we taught the various fields with real-world problems. Maybe then people would learn the subjects better.
For example, I learned and retained more about trigonometry when I took Applied Trig in my drafting classes than I'd ever learned in grade school and later in college. Had I taken Applied Calculus before attempting the theory-only class, I might not have failed that one (I didn't take Applied Calculus due to it not being a requirement for most drafting classes.)
I still remember some of the trig formulas thirty years later and know how to apply them. What is the real-world application of the equation "7+7/7+7x7-7" other than for developing mental acuity? Perhaps if the equation had been presented that way, more people might have solved it and then you'd have had fewer bad reactions 
but the biggest thing people need to know first is how to program Excel. Once you know that, you can make it do any math operations. Most of the engineers I've talked with about the use of calculus all said they just used Excel 
Of course, with programming, you have a whole new set of operations-order to contend with...
That is, while they get the commands from the brain to spell "because" properly, our fingers are going "Fuck you! People will be able to figure it out. Eventually." 
I don't know what it will take to improve our education system, but the Finnish one sure does seem like one of the better ones to emulate. I would love to see more people in vocational schools, versus listening to their parents (as I did) and trying to get that coveted BA/BS degree when they really aren't capable of or interested in that kind of training. My own BA probably does help on my resume, but my experience is what usually gets me the jobs.
Even in drafting, we had difficult classes, such as structural, where trig was also used to determine stresses on trusses and beams. Yet, the instructors made it fun to figure that stuff out, even if one problem could take fifteen minutes to complete.
Now, one of my best instructors (ancient art history) did give you credit on the essay exams if you managed to successfully BS your way through a question
The answer is ONE.
Q. What did the yogi say to the hot dog vendor at the ball game?
A. Make me one with everything!
After the man received his hot dog, he gave the vendor a $20 bill. The vendor just smiled.
The man, infuriated, demanded, "Where is my change?"
The vendor replied, "O, one with everything, change comes from within."
I know someone who will love that one.
of an Australian reporter telling a version of that joke to the Dalai Lama. He doesn't get the joke, at all, which is funny because then the reporter has to try and explain the joke
Here's the site where I found the text of that joke above, so you can send it to your friend:
http://www.lucid-dreams.com/yoga/yoga-jokes.htm
seven plus seven. And you give me the answer. The I say, divided by seven, and you give me that answer. And so on. Just writing it out that way is highly ambiguous. Because you can also put in the parentheses like this: (7+7)/7+7
7-7)
Simply writing out a string of numbers and signs isn't necessarily making it clear what should be done. Yes, I understand about order of operations, but the way I was taught it was paying attention to what was inside the parentheses. Without those little marks you have no idea what really should be done in what order.
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2013/03/facebook_math_problem_why_pemdas_doesn_t_always_give_a_clear_answer.html
What Is the Answer to That Stupid Math Problem on Facebook?
And why are people so riled up about it?
By Tara Haelle
Perhaps you’ve seen the problem on Facebook or another forum: 6 ÷ 2(1+2) = ?
It’s one of several similar math problems popping up on social networks recently. Perhaps you, too, thought, “Duh! That’s easy,” and then, as I did, became embroiled in an epically long comment thread while your blood pressure steadily rose because you could not possibly understand why the others doing this problem could not get the right answer.
Perhaps, if you’re a nerd like me, or you teach math as I do, you even fell asleep thinking about this problem, baffled and frustrated about why you were unable to convince intelligent, educated friends that your calculation of this deceptively simple problem was accurate.
(snip)
But first, why do we get so riled up about these problems? People don’t usually get into fistfights at the bar over arithmetic, but these math threads are spectacularly vitriolic. A couple of factors are at work in these math debates, according to Robert Glenn Howard, a social psychologist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison who specializes in Internet communication and folklore.
(snip)
So people dig in, not realizing the other reason these debates drag on—a mathematical one. We are taught to think of math as an absolute discipline without ambiguity. To an extent, that’s true: Two plus two is always four. But while the math itself lacks ambiguity, the way we express that math requires a system of symbols—otherwise known as language. Consider how often people debate grammar. Math has syntax just as language does—with the same potential for ambiguities. And just as word-based riddles exploit the ambiguities of language, so do these math problems.
(more at link)
Fascinating, well written article. Enjoy it!
I also understand that it is intentionally ambiguous just to attract hits on someone's Facebook account in order to help them gain revenue via an FB with a huge hit count.
Don't forget to tell the little girl with Down Syndrome that she is really pretty. And remember dial telephones. And give that kid 100,000 likes so his dad will buy him a pony.
I am a mathematical moron. Can't even solve simple addition/subtraction problems in my head.
If I tried to solve that problem and got the wrong answer, I would definitely NOT get defensive...
most people don't edit their posts before making them, much less reread them. The thing with the Internet is "immediacy". They don't have time to edit or proofread because most people will ignore those mistakes and go for the gist of what they're trying to say.
And then there are those of us for whom our fingers refuse properly obey theyr're mental commands, and you get what I left back their'
..and?
could precipitate a whole thead discussion about order of operation proves your point.
Well done. 
I read this post yesterday and couldn't figure it out. I showed it to him this morning and he solved it within seconds.
I had him explain to me how he solved it; I feel stupid. 
It has its own rules and puncutation.
The goal of a math statement, like a statement in any other language, is to clearly and concisely transmit an idea or information.
And, just like a statement in any other language, a poorly constructed math statement conveys an ambiguous message. It's not surprising that the meaning of the math statement in the OP is confusing, and open to different interpretations, because it's written in a way that forces the reader to guess the intention of the writer. Proper punctuation changes the meaning of any math statement, just like it does with a statement in English.
A woman without her man is nothing.
A woman: without her, man is nothing.
Most people would interpret the math statement in the OP the same way, and come up with the answer of 50. But if the writer wanted to absolutely be clear about the message in their math statement, they would have written it with math punctuation that made it obvious what they meant:
Instead of 7+7/7+7x7-7, how about:
Blame the confusion on the writer, not the reader.
Sid
