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It's my first time here, so I'm just chumping out a random puzzle I found interesting. It is the following:

1 + 7 = 6

2 + 6 = 4

3 + 10 = 6

5 + 2 = ?

It's probably super easy for you geniuses because I've been the level of ability here, but I just wanted to have throw something out there.

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    $\begingroup$ Ugh, I hate when people abuse the + and = signs. $\endgroup$
    – Deusovi ♦
    Commented Mar 20, 2016 at 15:34
  • $\begingroup$ Does + mean something else here? $\endgroup$
    – Saikat
    Commented Mar 20, 2016 at 16:21
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    $\begingroup$ Hello! Thanks for posting your question! Unfortunately, I'm not sure it's a good fit for this site. We prefer puzzles that have one demonstrably correct answer, especially for mathematical puzzles. But as discussed in this thread, puzzles where you're given a mystery function and have to guess one of the numbers can arguably have a large number of valid answers. This isn't to say that your puzzle is bad, just that it isn't the best fit for this particular site. $\endgroup$
    – Kevin
    Commented Mar 20, 2016 at 18:21
  • $\begingroup$ Oh. I'll try to give a better puzzle next time, thanks for the heads up! $\endgroup$
    – Mildwood
    Commented Mar 20, 2016 at 22:50

4 Answers 4

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One possibility is

5

Because

You're spelling out the numbers, adding the number of letters, and subtracting 2.

ONESEVEN is 8 letters; 8-2=6
TWOSIX is 6 letters; 6-2=4
THREETEN is 8 letters; 8-2=6
FIVETWO is 7 letters; 7-2=5

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My guess is

7

Because

You're summing the number of vertices in each number:

[picture]

(However, as that isn't necessarily very mathematical, I don't necessarily think this is the right answer.

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  • $\begingroup$ This seems a viable answer, as any, to me. $\endgroup$
    – Khale_Kitha
    Commented Mar 20, 2016 at 17:49
  • $\begingroup$ If this answer is correct, the puzzle is rather disappointing, because this is not an equivalence relation (not symmetric). 6 only has one vertex. $\endgroup$
    – Columbo
    Commented Mar 20, 2016 at 22:12
  • $\begingroup$ It's not the answer, but I must admit it's pretty genius. $\endgroup$
    – Mildwood
    Commented Mar 20, 2016 at 22:49
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My guess is …

5

Because …

Counting the letters in the english language words for each number and subtracting two gives:
one + seven = 8 letters; 8 - 2 = 6
two + six = 6 letters; 6 - 2 = 4
three + ten = 8 letters; 8 - 2 = 6
five + two = 7 letters; 7 - 2 = 5

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  • $\begingroup$ Rats. @BenM ninja'd me :) $\endgroup$
    – Sean D. Sollé
    Commented Mar 21, 2016 at 0:31
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5, because you might be adding the number of syllables in each line? = can be "equals" or "is"?

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  • $\begingroup$ But the first and third lines have different numbers of syllables yet are both 6. $\endgroup$
    – BenM
    Commented Mar 21, 2016 at 0:23
  • $\begingroup$ one plus sev en e quals = 6 syllables three plus one zer o is = 6 syllables $\endgroup$
    – apocalysque
    Commented Mar 21, 2016 at 0:25

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