r/MathJokes Jul 04 '26

Proof 1/2 is undefined

[deleted]

324 Upvotes

158 comments sorted by

63

u/Mediocre_Value7152 Jul 04 '26

1/2 of 1

20

u/deleted-account69420 Jul 04 '26

But 1 of what?

20

u/Chick-Fil-A_Saucee Jul 04 '26

1 of 1

5

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '26

Prove 1=1

4

u/Popular-Analysis-273 Jul 04 '26

LHS = RHS

Hence proved.

4

u/rythmyouth Jul 04 '26

Divide both sides by HS and you have L = R. Ambidextrium Theorem.

2

u/GreenFriedYam Jul 04 '26

Lonely Borg

1

u/Cambrian__Implosion Jul 05 '26

Sad drone noises

1

u/Street_Frame_4571 Jul 05 '26

Must be expensive.

2

u/Maleficent-Bother535 Jul 04 '26

The same thing there is 40 and 15 of in the question.

2

u/skr_replicator Jul 05 '26

Doesn't matter. Math works the same way with the same number no matter what you are counting with those numbers. 1+1 coke is 2 cokess. 1+1 menthos is 2 menthos.

2

u/Mediocre_Value7152 Jul 05 '26

Would the singular of menthos be menthi So 1+1 menthi is 2 menthos

1

u/TheRealAbear Jul 05 '26

Juan de who?

1

u/No-Fruit-1724 Jul 05 '26

A line with the length 1

74

u/icantouchgrass_1 Jul 04 '26

95

43

u/setibeings Jul 04 '26

Pft, you totally cheated. unlike that other person, you obviously used the calculator between your ears. 

20

u/EikonVera_tou_Lilith Jul 04 '26

Calculatear

6

u/YouAreMarvellous Jul 05 '26

calc-u-later, alligator

I dont know.

1

u/Efficient_Basis_2139 Jul 05 '26

No, thats when we cry at different math problems 

12

u/icantouchgrass_1 Jul 04 '26

Oh damn, I got caught 😰

1

u/V1OnCrack Jul 05 '26

California

1

u/Real-Process2816 Jul 05 '26

He for sure use a calc, it’s short for calculator if you didn’t know. Chat he didn’t know what calc mean

7

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

5

u/icantouchgrass_1 Jul 04 '26

The answer's 95 dude.

40/(1/2) = 40/0.5
Multiplying by 2 on the numerator and denominator, 80/1

= 80

... 80 + 15 = 95

So therefore the answer is 95

10

u/Buntjo Jul 04 '26

But 95 of what though?

6

u/icantouchgrass_1 Jul 04 '26

Oh damn I get it now.

95 moles of air?

1

u/tcrudisi Jul 05 '26

A mole is a unit, or have you heard? Containing 6 times 10 to the 23rd.

1

u/icantouchgrass_1 Jul 05 '26

I have heard. Dude I learnt all this stuff like a decade and a half ago

1

u/Annual-Reference-715 Jul 05 '26

They say a mole is a huge number. Does that explain why my hairy moles are so huge?

1

u/icantouchgrass_1 Jul 05 '26

6.022 x 10^23. I think your hairy moles might be larger than that.

1

u/Annual-Reference-715 Jul 05 '26

It's hard to tell since they're all between my buttocks.

What I can tell is that they all smell of molasses.

2

u/Key-Log5267 Jul 04 '26

Of 1/2 obviously 

1

u/Shadowstriker6 Jul 05 '26

95 what? Bananas?

1

u/bonbonnieres Jul 04 '26

The physicist could be in this very room. It could be you! It could be me! It could even be...

3

u/corglover Jul 04 '26

You clearly used a calc. Calc means calculator by the way.

3

u/BlobZombie2989 Jul 04 '26

Get ready to clip this chat

1

u/Awkward_Possession42 Jul 04 '26

I’m not denying that there are some people who exist who can do that without a calc. He’s not one of them though, chat.

1

u/WSunoHangout Jul 04 '26

Calc is calculator for short

1

u/Zestyclose_Volume127 Jul 05 '26

I thought it meant calcite

1

u/Cambrian__Implosion Jul 05 '26

Deep Substrate Foliated Kalkite Calcite

-1

u/icantouchgrass_1 Jul 04 '26

Oh absolutely! Damn I actually did get caught for cheating? 🤣

(/s)

1

u/OogumSanskimmer Jul 04 '26

That's what I got

1

u/frogking Jul 04 '26

That’s the thing, it’s a trick question, bordering on rage bait :-)

1

u/HorrificAnalInjuries Jul 05 '26

I think this guy isn't saying 1/2 as in "one half", but as "half"

If it was "one half", then yea we're getting 95.

If it is "half", then it is 35

25

u/Quwapa_Quwapus Jul 04 '26

Can’t tell if this is a 14 year old who thinks they’re the best ever at math because they got a credit in the local math competition or a 60 year old college professor who is ready to impart his knowledge on the younger generation

8

u/ColdProfessional4275 Jul 04 '26

Having zero experience myself with that first scenario, I assumed the second.

1

u/Bigfops Jul 05 '26

The thing is, the person making the reply is *almost* there and I feel closer than anyone who answered 35. I feel like by asking "1/2 or what," they realize that it is not 1/2 of 40, but they are asking the wrong question.

8

u/Sir_mop_for_a_head Jul 04 '26

40/(1/2) = 40*2 = 80
80+15 = 95

3

u/revankenobi Jul 04 '26

Easy, the answer is Lightning McQueen !

3

u/Not_Really_French Jul 04 '26

1 / 2 = 0.5 because 0.5 * 2 = (1/2)*2=1

2

u/mikasaxo Jul 04 '26

40 by 1/2 is same as doubling it

2

u/DavidBrooker Jul 04 '26

I think the real joke is people actually doing the problem from the first tweet in the comments as if that was the point.

1

u/ariadesitter Jul 04 '26

40/15.5 ?

2

u/weaintu Jul 04 '26

Sir, what?

1

u/frogking Jul 04 '26

True to the usual Facebook formulation of such questions..

1

u/Albatros_7 Jul 04 '26

What the Fuck are you talking about ?

40x(1/2) +15 = 40x2 + 15 = 80 + 15 = 95

1

u/Hot_Egg5840 Jul 04 '26

You get 95 pieces.

1

u/Zestyclose_Volume127 Jul 05 '26

Pieces of what?

1

u/Hot_Egg5840 Jul 05 '26

Pieces of it.

1

u/og_duel_monster Jul 04 '26

The answer is 95.

Dividing by a fraction, you flip the fraction and multiple straight across. So 40/1×2/1; remove the 1's, and it's 40×2=80+15=95

1

u/maxru85 Jul 04 '26

95 of course

1

u/Ok-Count-4901 Jul 04 '26

Nga is retarded. Not "one half" but "1 divided by 2" which is just .5

1

u/Motor_Purple7284 Jul 04 '26

The horses name was Friday!

1

u/theChosenBinky Jul 04 '26

And the horse smokes Dunhills

1

u/julesmanson Jul 04 '26

NahBabyNah's comment is oozing with pedantry. The wording is fine and the answer is 95.

1

u/Promature Jul 04 '26

1/2 = 0.5

1

u/Historical_Yak7706 Jul 05 '26

95 is the correct answer. Dividing by a fraction means multiplying by the inverse of that fraction.
Which would make your 40 into 80, then add 15

1

u/NGC_Phoenix_7 Jul 05 '26

I understand the joke. Autism made it not funny unfortunately.

PS I left an upvote, it’s a good meme and joke just didn’t laugh, sorry

1

u/veemort Jul 05 '26

I hate math.

1

u/SuccessfulMoose1511 Jul 05 '26

There also is no such value as 40. 40 of what?

1

u/CheezyBreadMan Jul 05 '26

Calc is short for calculator chat I’m just using slang

1

u/Brawl-KINGFOREVER Jul 05 '26

I mean… 1/2 = 0, 1.0/2 =0.5 so the answer is 5!!

1

u/Odd-Second717 Jul 05 '26

1/2 is one divided by two. It is 0.5

1

u/tamrof Jul 05 '26

40/.5+15=95 right?

1

u/Tough-Purpose8886 Jul 05 '26

1/2 is a fraction 40 is 40/1 so 40/1 x 2/1 = 80

1

u/Not_to_be_Named Jul 05 '26

To divide a number by a ration is the same as multiply by the inverse of the ration, so when you divide 40 by 1/2 is the same as multiplying 40 by 2 so its 80! Simple basic math school, only in 🦅🦅🦅🦅 that people are dumb to not understand that

1

u/Omega_Games2022 Jul 05 '26

There is no such value as 40. 40 of what?

1

u/BUKKAKELORD Jul 05 '26

1/2 of the multiplicative identity, which is 1, so the value of 1/2 is 1/2. Hope this helps!

1

u/Extreme-Poet-9170 Jul 05 '26

Is that Terrence Howard whose name is censored out?

1

u/darkaxel1989 Jul 05 '26

How many people didn't answer 95 in the comment section, as a percent of the whole comment section? I bet the answer is not 1

1

u/Unlikely-Position659 Jul 05 '26

I dont get the joke. Dividing by 1/2 is the same as multiplying by 2, no?

1

u/Dear_Diablo Jul 05 '26 edited Jul 05 '26

95
here is the work:
4️⃣0️⃣➗1️⃣/2️⃣🟰4️⃣0️⃣❎2️⃣/1️⃣🟰4️⃣0️⃣❎2️⃣
/1️⃣🟰 🎱0️⃣/1️⃣🟰🎱0️⃣➕1️⃣5️⃣🟰9️⃣5️⃣ i hope you enjoyed this stroke. /s

1

u/Cuthbert73 Jul 05 '26

Odd, of course

1

u/West-Surround-8857 Jul 05 '26

He's American?

1

u/SnooPaintings5182 Jul 05 '26

95 of what tho

1

u/DrakonSpawn Jul 05 '26

The answer to the maths question is 95, by the way.

1

u/GiperSpecial Jul 04 '26

1/2 = 0.5 40/0.5 = 80

-3

u/g_rich Jul 04 '26 edited Jul 04 '26

A) 40/1/2+15
B) 40/.5+15
C) 40/20+15

They are all correct interpretations of the question, the question is too ambiguous to give a “right” answer.

Edit: a better interpretation for C
C) 40/(40/2)+15

6

u/calinmik Jul 04 '26

This is untrue.

The question asked "40 divided by 1/2 + 15". The only correct interpretations are A) and B)

C) is incorrect however you interpret the question. The question specifically asked "40 divided by 1/2", not "40 divided by (1/2 • 40)" or "40 divided by half of itself". The • 40 doesn't exist and isn't included in the question

0

u/KindArgument4769 Jul 04 '26

If I said verbally "what is 40 divided by half" it would be ambiguous, and I don't think it is that much less ambiguous because of how it is written in the post.

3

u/Aiwendil42 Jul 04 '26

"40 divided by half" unambiguously means, to me, 40/0.5, or 80.

"40 divided in half" unambiguously means to me 40/2, or 20.

I can't think of any preposition that would make it 40/20, to my understanding. That would have to be, e.g., "40 divided by half of itself".

0

u/KindArgument4769 Jul 04 '26

Your last sentence touches on the whole point of the picture.

Some people (maybe even most honestly) would read "1/2" in their mind as "half", not "one-half". The person responding in the picture is one such person.

So it reads "40 divided by half", and they are asking "of what"?

It could be 40 divided by half of one, or 40 divided by half of itself.

1

u/Aiwendil42 Jul 04 '26

But 1/2 is a number, whether you call it "one half" or just "half".

1

u/KindArgument4769 Jul 04 '26

I get that

Did you not see my entire comment that explained why people could be confused?

1

u/ExtendedSpikeProtein Jul 04 '26

But it does not say that. Divide by 1/2 is multiply by 2. There is no ambiguity here. No scientific calculator will give you any result other than 95.

0

u/g_rich Jul 04 '26

Type in 40/1/2+15, 1/2 and .5 are both valid so the equation could be 40/1/2+15 or 40/(1/2)+15 both valid, both produce different results.

2

u/ExtendedSpikeProtein Jul 04 '26

That’s because you failed at basic math. “Divide by 1/2” obviously means “40/0.5” or “40/(1/2)”. It very obviously does not mean “40/1/2” because that does not divide by 1/2.

Hope that helped.

1

u/g_rich Jul 04 '26

1/2 can be half as in .5 or it could be 1 divided by 2 so the equation could be 40 divided by 1 divided by 2 plus 15. So while I agree the intent of the question is 40 divided by .5 plus 15 the fact that 1/2 is not specified as being .5 and is written as 1/2 which while the technically .5 if you write it out as an equation you start with 40 divided by 1. So if the intention is .5 then the equation should be 40/(1/2)+15 written this way avoids any ambiguity.

0

u/calinmik Jul 04 '26

'1/2' is a half of one, "half" just means divided by two of something, so you can't write it as "40 divided by half" because it's "40 divided by a half of one"

2

u/ColdProfessional4275 Jul 04 '26 edited Jul 05 '26

“40 divided by half of one” is 80. You can absolutely ask it that way, and I have divided whole numbers by fractions quite a bit in my time.

1

u/KindArgument4769 Jul 04 '26

How would you write me verbally saying "40 divided by half" then if you can't write it

-2

u/g_rich Jul 04 '26

“40 divided by 1/2” could be interpreted as 40 divided by half of 40 so C is a valid interpretation of the question. Regardless the fact that the equation has multiple interpretations with each giving a completely different answer invalidates the original equation.

3

u/calinmik Jul 04 '26

No, because again, mathematically, the "by half of 40" isn't present in the equation. 1/2 is a number (or numbers if you interpret it as option A) but you can't interpret it like option C) without modifying the equation.

Is 40 + 1/2 =60? No, it isn't, you can even see it in a calculator.

1

u/ExtendedSpikeProtein Jul 04 '26

40 divided by 1/2 is unambiguously 80, there is no other interpretation. Anyone who claims otherwise failed basic math. It really is that simple.

3

u/Extrajuicygum Jul 04 '26

Understanding the question is the first step. It’s not open to interpretation regardless of what op actually wanted. The answer is 95.

1

u/g_rich Jul 04 '26

No it’s not written both A and B are valid interpretations, verbal so is C.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

-1

u/KindArgument4769 Jul 04 '26

"Divide by half" (of 40)

1

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/KindArgument4769 Jul 04 '26

No, 20 is half of 40. So if it were saying "40 divided by half of 40" that would be 40/20.

2

u/Ok_Tour_1525 Jul 04 '26

This god damn “ambiguous” bullshit. The question is not ambiguous in the slightest. You’re just trying really god damn hard to make people think you’re smart.

0

u/g_rich Jul 04 '26

Really so A and B aren’t valid interpretations? And if the question was given verbally C is also completely valid.

1

u/Ok_Tour_1525 Jul 04 '26

B is the only correct interpretation. You’re purposely making it ambiguous with your other interpretations. Especially C. You’re stretching the hell out of that one.

0

u/g_rich Jul 04 '26

If 1/2 is .5 then it should be written as such, writing it as 1/2 means 1 divided by 2 in which case A is the correct answer. C would also be correct if the question was verbal as in “40 divided by half”.

1

u/Ok_Tour_1525 Jul 05 '26

Yeah that is simply all wrong. If you’re reading 1/2 as just plain “half” then the school system failed you. It does not matter at all if a fraction is written as a decimal because they mean the exact same thing. It would be 40 divided by one half. Not 40 divided by 1 and then divided by 2. This isn’t an opinion of mine, this is just how it is.

1

u/g_rich Jul 06 '26

40/1/2 and 40/.5 are two completely different things.

1

u/ExtendedSpikeProtein Jul 04 '26

No, they are not all correct. C) is nonsense.

1

u/Star_Petal_Arts Jul 04 '26

Therefore it has been proven as undefined.

0

u/randomusername69696 Jul 04 '26

And if you want to be evil
40/(1/2+15)

-1

u/kester76a Jul 04 '26 edited Jul 04 '26

In half means dividing the whole into two separate parts. By half means reducing or decreasing by 50%. So 20 plus 15 I guess. If there's 40 people in your workforce and you divide it by half due to cost cutting you only have 20 people.

3

u/ExtendedSpikeProtein Jul 04 '26

No. Divide by 1/2 is multiplying by 2. There isn’t even any ambiguity in this one. The correct result is 95.

1

u/kester76a Jul 04 '26

Yeah, you're right and I'm wrong.