It’s my opinion that there are three kinds of people in the world: people who enjoy math, people who dread math, and people who have made peace with math. I’m in the last group. I’m not in love with doing math and if my life depended on getting math problems correct, I’d be pretty afraid, but I’ve mostly made peace with the fact that math is a part of life. I know people who are passionate about mathematics, and they’re interesting folks who seem to speak a language I barely understand. Most of us mere mortals just sort of get by when it comes to solving math problems.
Have you ever had the experience where you’re solving a mind-twisting puzzle that seems obvious, but then you realize you’ve been doing it wrong all along? That happened to me with the problem below. It seems pretty straightforward, right? Give it your best shot and let us know how you do. However, before you congratulate yourself, be sure to go to the next page for the solution. It may not be as easy as you think it is.
What solution did you come up with? Did you guess 10? Maybe 12? Some folks may have even guessed 1. The fact is, it’s none of those. Go to the next page to find the solution.