# A fun math trick I learned **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 23, 2002, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-fun-math-trick-i-learned/129215 "2002-09-23T02:24:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![cmosdes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cmosdes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmosdes)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2002, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-fun-math-trick-i-learned/129215/21 "2002-09-24T20:10:49Z")
Hey, **mouthbreather** , that is a great joke, but I heard it this way: 4269 432422 323 3267890012 432, 1234 46900 834516 165 12 486747 2482491, 4492821 13454 97762211! Clearly this version makes much more sense! ---
**Author:** ![Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/2bfe46/32.png) [@Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xavier)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2002, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-fun-math-trick-i-learned/129215/22 "2002-09-24T20:28:55Z")
> [@](#): > > 4269 432422 323 3267890012 432, 1234 46900 834516 165 12 486747 2482491, 4492821 13454 97762211! And you say I can get _twelve_ fine ladies with this number? ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2002, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-fun-math-trick-i-learned/129215/23 "2002-09-25T00:42:46Z")
1. 2. 3. What? No reaction? Nothing? Damn, it must be how I’m telling it. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2002, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-fun-math-trick-i-learned/129215/24 "2002-09-25T04:31:57Z")
Sorry sorry sorry…been WAY too busy with school (and, BTW, I am female!) OK, so we started with 7695 I then said that the answer was 27 693 The next number: 4234 I then give you the number 5765 I need another number: I’m taking 3426, from **mouthbreather’s** post, just to not leave you hanging again 🙂 I now give you the number 6573 So take the four digit numbers, and add them up: 7695 + 4234 + 5765 + 3426 + 6573 = 27 693 There you go, just as I said, with only the first number to go by! TA! DA! And please please please forgive me for the delay. Skool is HARD! BTW- **Architect** - you have part of the solution! sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry … ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2002, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-fun-math-trick-i-learned/129215/25 "2002-09-25T04:54:48Z")
I dont know whether to be unimpressed, amused, confused, or whooshed by this thread. Let make sure I have this straight. A+B+C+D+E=X, and we are supposed to be impressed that you can make this work when you provide C, E, and X? All you have to do is say the “answer” is 1998 over the given A, , because you can provide c and e using (b+c = 9999) and (d+e = 9999). Am I missing something? If so, I am confused. If not, I am unimpressed but yet still somewhat amused. And then there’s the very high possibility that I am getting wooshed here. I hope it’s the woosh. Syrup is better than Jelly. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2002, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-fun-math-trick-i-learned/129215/26 "2002-09-25T04:56:28Z")
sorry, that 1998 should be 19998. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2002, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-fun-math-trick-i-learned/129215/27 "2002-09-25T06:44:12Z")
I learned a cool math trick too. OK, take any number. Any number you want. Now, add three to that number. OK, now multiply by 2. OK, now subtract 6. Now divide by 2 Now subtract your original number. Did you get 0? YEAH BABY I’M PSYCHIC! Kneel before Zod. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2002, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-fun-math-trick-i-learned/129215/28 "2002-09-25T12:55:55Z")
:sigh: ☹ I don’t know why I bothered. It would have been better if it would have been done all at once… I get the answer from the first number, and then the whole trick can be done within about a minute… I thought it was pretty cool when I first learned it, but it really doesn’t go over well on a message board, especially not when I forget about it and am too busy to come back to it anyways. The problem is, the trick NEEDS another person’s input - its not like its too impressive to just add numbers that I provide. So, person gives a number: ABCD I can then determine the answer to the whole trick from that single number. Person gives another number, EFGH and I “respond” ( suppose thats the best way to describe it) by providing another number, IJKL. Then we do the same thing again, to get two more four-digit numbers. We end up with a total of 5 numbers, which we add, and they add up to the number that I determined _from looking at only one number_. I thought without the ability to edit posts, and a little bit of patience on the part of dopers, this could work, but I suppose its more impressive in person. It’s really a simple trick to solve, but its kind of cool to see anyways (at least IMHO). Sorry. I’ll try not to do it again ☹ ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2002, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-fun-math-trick-i-learned/129215/29 "2002-09-25T12:59:43Z")
I also usually don’t reveal the answer right away, but make sure the person knows where/when I wrote it down. That would REALLY not have worked here, since it would look like I just added it up at the end, so I tried to change the approach. Like I said, the WHOLE thing takes about a minute, so I’m not sitting there for hours deciding which numbers to “respond” with in order to make it work. I guess I was hoping for more response on the original day - late-night back and forth, and I didn’t get it. So this dragged on, and it flopped horribly. Again, sorry. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2002, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-fun-math-trick-i-learned/129215/30 "2002-09-25T13:11:19Z")
Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself, it’s not a big deal. Sorry if my post above was more harsh on you above, it was all in good fun. And if you want to see some truly monumental flops, click that “search” button under my name. I’ve had my share. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-fun-math-trick-i-learned/129215.md?page=1)