25?
I know that’s gotta be wrong.
The pattern answer is obviously 60. The mathematical answer is obviously 30. The base four attempt, is clearly incorrect as there are 5s on the left side and a 6 on the right side, so there’s no way any of the numbers are base four.
The thing with these sorts of memes on facebook is to just spawn arguments and then get people to spread it to get their friends to support their side. I think the whole point here is to start an argument between the pattern people and the math people. And, frankly, neither side is meaningfully right because both sides are required to make some rather bizarre assumptions. The pattern side just assumes we should redefine the + operator or assumes unstated units just because it makes the pattern fit. The math side assumes that our inquisitor is an idiot or just doesn’t take any of the context into account.
I wasn’t trying to start an argument.
It has been interesting to see all the different responses and how people come up with their answers.
Say what you will, at least arguments on this one don’t make me sad like all the people answering “anything times zero is zero!” on:
1 + 1 - 1 + 1 + 1 * 0 + 1
did
I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant to imply at all. I’m not accusing you of trying to start an argument. I just think that the originators of these facebook memes usually have an ulterior motive. In this case, I think it’s clear that whoever came up with it had to be aware that there were two conflicting answers. I do think it’s interesting to see which way people approach it, but I also find it interesting to explore the motivation behind the person who first asked the question.
It’s like, just yesterday, I saw someone post an image that said “I bet you can’t name a state that doesn’t have the letter “i” in it” or something to that affect. Nevermind that the person who posted it lives in Maryland (and I can think of several others too). I have to imagine the idea in that sort of case was just to maybe make people spreading it feel foolish if they can’t or those who think they’ve figured it out feel a little clever.
Or maybe it’s just a social experiment. Are my facebook friends the type of people who will see a pattern and follow with it, even if the pattern goes against the established rules or are my friends the type of people who will stick to the mathematical definition, rejecting that apparent pattern as just bad evidence. It’s also interesting seeing the answers that aren’t one of those two and how they justify those. Hell, you probably learn a lot more about the person based on how they justify whichever answer they pick rather than on the actual answer they pick.
1? if I look at numbers as variables. that will make sense to me.
Without looking at the other responses and assuming there’s a trick, I think the answer is 60. Essentially, for all examples, the two numbers being added are doubled:
1+5 ~ 2+10 = 12
2+10 ~ 4+20 = 24
3+15 ~ 6+30 = 36
5+25 ~ 10+50 = 60
ETA: Or, like others said, it’s a question of obedience. But I like my answer better, because it shows I’m a free, independent thinker who is willing to go outside the box (while speaking in cliches.) Or so I’d like to believe. 
I think the joke is: if 1=5, then 5=1
You have one equation in 2 unknowns, so you won’t have a unique answer (the equations are all multiples of each other, so the additional equations don’t add any additional information). Therefore, anything of the form x = 12-5y will be a solution, such as (7,1), (2,2), (3,-3), etc. The (weeks, days) answer sounds good, but you could probably come up with a story for any of the possible answers, if you tried hard enough.
It’s the name of the ballplayer playing Second Base.
yup, the intended answer is 1. however, as we can see, 25 is a perfectly valid answer. let’s extend the joke to the OP -
1 + 5 = 12
2 + 10 = 24
3 + 15 = 36
then
5 + 25 = 60
then
12 + 60 = 144
so does that also mean
12 + 60 = 1 + 5 + 5 + 25
?
when you abandon the rules, anything goes.