I never shy away from a good ol' brain teaser. Though they're often a harsh reminder that I should've paid way more attention in math class growing up, they're the perfect way to stretch my noggin beyond its usual limits. So when I went down a YouTube rabbit hole and came across this viral math-related brain teaser that claims to be "harder than it looks," I grabbed a pencil and paper, rolled up my sleeves, and mentally prepared for the challenge.
The question posed in the video initially seems pretty simple: can you make 24 from the numbers 3, 3, 8, and 8 only using the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and grouping terms by parentheses? At first, I was all, "Psh, 3 times 8 equals 24. Easy peasy!" But then I reread that you have to use all four digits in order to get to 24, and my reaction instantly morphed into a little something like this:
In the video, math enthusiast Presh Talwalkar narrates through some hacks to help us come to a solution, proving just how tricky the problem really is — even if you consider yourself to be a wizard with numbers. So how on earth do you solve this crazy brain teaser? Watch the video above to find out the answer!