Credits: Social Media
You can work out 48+38 three different ways, and it’s blowing peoples’ minds
A lighthearted podcast discussion about the different ways in which people use head calculators to work out math problems has provided an insightful look into the human mind.
Who would have thought a simple math problem would have so many solutions?
How do you do math in your head?
During a conversation about our over-reliance on our mobile calculators in 2024, the hosts of the Mizzen and Main podcast implored one another to demonstrate how they would work out a simple maths problem in their heads.
The sum in question was ’48 + 38′ – a straightforward addition of two double-digit numbers, for which the trio of hosts quickly supplied three differing solutions.
The first proposed solution was to add 30 to 48, leaving you with 78, before adding the remaining eight to leave you with 86.
The next approach suggested adding both the eights together to make 16, combining the remaining numbers to get 70, and then adding the pair together.
Finally, the last host suggested he would round the 48 up to 50, add the 38 to make 88, before subtracting the additional two to get the correct answer.
Netizens weigh in on 48 + 38 sum
The short clip quickly picked up speed on social media, racking up hundreds of thousands of views on TikTok as the masses shared the inner workings of their brains.
The final host’s approach, in which you round up to 50 to make life easier for yourself, appeared to be a popular method, with a number of users nothing that their brains automatically transform the sum into ’50 + 38 – 2′.
Another user also suggested rounding both numbers up, leaving you with: ’50 + 40 = 90 – 4= 86′.
Simple maths hack
If the Mizzen and Main clip has got you thinking about the way you work out math sums in your head and the fact that your mental arithmetic has probably worsened significantly since you left school, then there’s a whole side of math TikTok that you’d probably be interested in.
As pointed out by the educational account ’51isdivisibleby17′, there’s a shockingly simple trick that one can employ if ever tasked with dividing larger numbers.
If, for instance, you are dividing the number 979 by 11, you can simply remove the middle number of the denominator, which is seven in this instance, and you’ll be left with the correct answer – 99.
Granted, this only works for three-digit numbers divisible by 11, but it remains a pretty cool party trick to impress your non-math friends with all the same.
