# How would you solve the equation 2+2X2?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-solve-the-equation-2-2x2/582144
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [May 16, 2011, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-solve-the-equation-2-2x2/582144 "2011-05-16T22:00:43Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2011, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-solve-the-equation-2-2x2/582144/1 "2011-05-16T22:00:43Z")
I, and most of my Facebook friends, say 6 (as opposed to 8)
---
### Author:  [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2011, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-solve-the-equation-2-2x2/582144/2 "2011-05-16T22:02:36Z")
1.
---
### Author:  [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2011, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-solve-the-equation-2-2x2/582144/3 "2011-05-16T22:17:29Z")
> [@etv78](#):
>
> I, and most of my Facebook friends, say 6 (as opposed to 8)
I don’t think there’s any question about the conventional answer: order of operations says you handle multiplication before addition.
---
### Author:  [@classyladyhp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/classyladyhp)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-solve-the-equation-2-2x2/582144/4 "2011-05-16T22:27:37Z")
> [@etv78](#):
>
> I, and most of my Facebook friends, say 6 (as opposed to 8)
The answer to this is 6. Multiplication is done before additon.
---
### Author:  [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2011, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-solve-the-equation-2-2x2/582144/5 "2011-05-16T22:47:40Z")
Not again…
---
### Author:  [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2011, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-solve-the-equation-2-2x2/582144/6 "2011-05-16T22:48:31Z")
The answer, as has already been stated, is 6.
And with 4 posters now agreeing, I think we have a quorum.
---
### Author:  [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2011, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-solve-the-equation-2-2x2/582144/7 "2011-05-16T22:57:25Z")
> [@needscoffee](#):
>
> Not again…
I fully expect this to become a PEMDAS trainwreck.
---
### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2011, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-solve-the-equation-2-2x2/582144/8 "2011-05-16T22:58:31Z")
The fact that anyone’s asking to begin with implies that someone thinks it’s 8. Who?
---
### Author:  [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2011, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-solve-the-equation-2-2x2/582144/9 "2011-05-16T23:03:34Z")
Two 2x2’s, which you could use in building a treehouse, or make into a letter “T”, or have a swordfight with.
---
### Author:  [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2011, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-solve-the-equation-2-2x2/582144/10 "2011-05-16T23:04:52Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> The fact that anyone’s asking to begin with implies that someone thinks it’s 8. Who?
[Not sure if trolling or just very stupid…](http://artoftrolling.memebase.com/2011/05/14/facebook-troll-what-happened-to-exponents/)
---
### Author:  [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2011, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-solve-the-equation-2-2x2/582144/11 "2011-05-16T23:59:20Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> The fact that anyone’s asking to begin with implies that someone thinks it’s 8. Who?
Most people at work did. Most of them did caveat that this would be “informal” maths before they answered, so they were aware of the distinction. The ones who didn’t were just annoyed at the “GOTCHA!” nature of the question. Which it is. (And then re-wrote it 2\*2+2, so that it made sense.)
I’ve always thought that it stemmed from our long-time usage of calculators, which calculates each piece of the simple equations we usually use them for piecemeal as we write them in.
---
### Author:  [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)
#### Post date: [May 17, 2011, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-solve-the-equation-2-2x2/582144/12 "2011-05-17T01:23:05Z")
It’s obvious to me. X has a root at -1/2.
---
### Author:  [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)
#### Post date: [May 17, 2011, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-solve-the-equation-2-2x2/582144/13 "2011-05-17T01:43:19Z")
To add to what everyone else has said, assuming people that come up with an answer of 8 are just doing this from left to right, the equation would break the commutative rule since
2 x 2 + 2 =6.
Of course, anyone who answers 8 probably doesn’t remember the commutative rule from grade school arithmetic.
---
### Author:  [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)
#### Post date: [May 17, 2011, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-solve-the-equation-2-2x2/582144/14 "2011-05-17T01:47:49Z")
42
---
### Author:  [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)
#### Post date: [May 17, 2011, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-solve-the-equation-2-2x2/582144/15 "2011-05-17T01:48:31Z")
> [@Bosstone](#):
>
> [Not sure if trolling or just very stupid…](http://artoftrolling.memebase.com/2011/05/14/facebook-troll-what-happened-to-exponents/)
For safety’s sake, I just want to clarify this isn’t directed at **Chronos** , but at the guy whose Facebook page the linked picture is.
---
### Author:  [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)
#### Post date: [May 17, 2011, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-solve-the-equation-2-2x2/582144/16 "2011-05-17T02:00:46Z")
Please EXcuse My Dear Aunt Sally.
---
### Author:  [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)
#### Post date: [May 17, 2011, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-solve-the-equation-2-2x2/582144/17 "2011-05-17T02:15:25Z")
> [@jasonh300](#):
>
> Please EXcuse My Dear Aunt Sally.
Precisely!
---
### Author:  [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)
#### Post date: [May 17, 2011, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-solve-the-equation-2-2x2/582144/18 "2011-05-17T07:13:53Z")
X = -0.5
You said “solve the equation”, not “evaluate the expression”.
---
### Author:  [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)
#### Post date: [May 17, 2011, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-solve-the-equation-2-2x2/582144/19 "2011-05-17T07:57:01Z")
> [@etv78](#):
>
> I, and most of my Facebook friends, say 6 (as opposed to 8)
Unfriend anyone who got it wrong. You don’t need dumb friends.
---
### Author:  [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)
#### Post date: [May 17, 2011, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-solve-the-equation-2-2x2/582144/20 "2011-05-17T09:13:26Z")
Pubes Express Manly Depression/Apathy Syndrome.
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-solve-the-equation-2-2x2/582144.md?page=2)