# Fairly simple math problem **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 12, 2012, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fairly-simple-math-problem/624955 "2012-06-12T20:51:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fairly-simple-math-problem/624955/21 "2012-06-13T18:14:02Z")
Did \*\*Frylock \*\*ever post a corrected thread? I’m interested to see what he had in mind, though for now, I just get 2x = y also. On a tangent, I just learned from a crossword puzzle that the division sign is called an obelus. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fairly-simple-math-problem/624955/22 "2012-06-13T18:19:41Z")
Well 2x = y in the first and y = 2x in the second, therefor 2x = 2x and then the 2’s cancel out so I get x=x. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fairly-simple-math-problem/624955/23 "2012-06-13T18:32:42Z")
Like everybody else, I got 2x=y and am waiting for the other shoe to drop. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fairly-simple-math-problem/624955/24 "2012-06-13T18:33:19Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Well 2x = y in the first and y = 2x in the second, therefor 2x = 2x and then the 2’s cancel out so I get x=x. That can be readily explained. You did the math wrong in the second one. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fairly-simple-math-problem/624955/25 "2012-06-13T18:42:50Z")
42? ---
**Author:** ![Mogle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mogle/32/12021_2.png) [@Mogle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mogle)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fairly-simple-math-problem/624955/26 "2012-06-13T18:52:31Z")
You know, your recent [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=655122) in GQ sort of make me think that this question was an experiment to see how people handle order of operations. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fairly-simple-math-problem/624955/27 "2012-06-13T20:14:20Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Now looking at other answers, I see that any number works. y cannot be 0. (And we all seem to be assuming that the 3y is the divisor.) ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fairly-simple-math-problem/624955/28 "2012-06-13T20:25:21Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > Did \*\*Frylock \*\*ever post a corrected thread? I’m interested to see what he had in mind, though for now, I just get 2x = y also. > > On a tangent, I just learned from a crossword puzzle that the division sign is called an obelus. Interesting, I’d thought up to now an obelus was one of [these](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagger_(typography)). Live and learn! ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fairly-simple-math-problem/624955/29 "2012-06-13T22:08:40Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Interesting, I’d thought up to now an obelus was one of [these](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagger_(typography)). Live and learn! Actually, that’s what the crossword author thought too. The clue was “Printing daggers”, and the answer, “OBELI”. I had no idea what that meant, so I looked it up and found he had it wrong … or wrong-ish anyway. There seems to be some ambiguity in the terms. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fairly-simple-math-problem/624955.md?page=1)