115
$\begingroup$

Can you make all the below statements true with a single click? If yes, explain how.

  • Three + Eleven = Ten
  • Seven + Five = Six
  • Two + Four = Eight

NB: 'A Single Click' means, with only a single left mouse button click. Not with a series of steps which includes only one mouse click action in it. Hope it's clear now.

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
6
  • 45
    $\begingroup$ I clicked on the upvote button. Does that count? Are they all true now? $\endgroup$
    – Marius
    Oct 14, 2016 at 11:01
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ @Marius Now you are not allowed to answer. $\endgroup$
    – m4n0
    Oct 14, 2016 at 11:02
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ As many users tend to answer your question by using keyboard instead of clicking to comply with "click only once", consider stating that it is not the way in you question (only click, not "do something, click once, do something"). $\endgroup$
    – oleslaw
    Oct 14, 2016 at 12:00
  • 13
    $\begingroup$ I am simultaneously impressed and horrified. $\endgroup$
    – Gareth McCaughan ♦
    Oct 14, 2016 at 12:48
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ I'm so tempted to change the formatting of those bullet points, using * instead of - maybe ;-) $\endgroup$
    – Rand al'Thor
    Oct 16, 2016 at 2:15

8 Answers 8

Reset to default
113
$\begingroup$

I can do this by simply

clicking the "Edit" (or "improve this question" for those who are not logged in) link at the bottom. The equations are written as:
- Three + Eleven = Ten (linebreak) - Seven + Five = Six (linebreak) - Two + Four = Eight
Which is numerically equivalent to:
$- 3 + 11 = 10 - 7 + 5 = 6 - 2 + 4 = 8$
It is 8 between all the "="s

which is true :)

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
11
  • 5
    $\begingroup$ Let me redirect you to this... xkcd.com/169 In no context is a linebreak not understood as a separator. For this to be correct you still need to remove the linebreaks. $\endgroup$
    – Matt Taylor
    Oct 14, 2016 at 15:49
  • 8
    $\begingroup$ @MattTaylor: Well, not really. C / C++ / Java / C# et al do not consider line breaks to be any different from spaces, and you can break a mathematical expression onto multiple lines like this one. I think very long formulae in print are wrapped as well. $\endgroup$
    – KeyboardWielder
    Oct 14, 2016 at 17:54
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ @oleslaw: Minor edit suggestion: For those reading P.SE without logging in, the "edit" button is shown as "improve this question". $\endgroup$
    – KeyboardWielder
    Oct 14, 2016 at 17:56
  • 8
    $\begingroup$ @MattTaylo Bad coding style: Yes. Incorrect: No. Good coding style implies that things are obvious. Where's the fun in a riddle that's obvious? $\endgroup$
    – mastov
    Oct 17, 2016 at 8:33
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ @MattTaylor Try $- 3 + 11 = 10 EOL - 7 + 5 = 6 EOL - 2 + 4 = 8$ in TeX or LaTeX (I denote EOL the end of line). $\endgroup$
    – yo'
    Oct 22, 2016 at 13:11
35
$\begingroup$

I can do it by

Right-clicking under the question's title, so the menu covers all the statements that are not true. There are no statements below, so all of them are true.

enter image description here

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
4
  • $\begingroup$ Good thinking. But it doesn't make any of the statements true. It just hides the statements. $\endgroup$
    – AeJey
    Oct 14, 2016 at 11:46
  • 32
    $\begingroup$ By doing that, there are no longer any statements to be seen, so "all" are true, because there are none. $\endgroup$
    – Manuel Hoffmann
    Oct 14, 2016 at 12:04
  • 4
    $\begingroup$ @AeJey en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuous_truth $\endgroup$
    – mastov
    Oct 17, 2016 at 8:28
  • $\begingroup$ Yes, I agree. :) $\endgroup$
    – AeJey
    Oct 21, 2016 at 11:49
15
$\begingroup$

Ohforf, "mathematics lateral-thinking"? The answer is obviously

"No." I leave proof of this fact as an excercise, since it's not required to answer the question (it says " If yes,").

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
1
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ The same answer was already given by Marius and he deleted it. You can make all those statements correct with just one click. $\endgroup$
    – AeJey
    Oct 14, 2016 at 12:04
4
$\begingroup$

I don't have an image editing program available, but:

View the equations in photoshop with a draw line tool set to dashed line. With your click, Draw a dashed line from the top right of the first equal sign to the bottom left of the last equal sign. This turns the equal signs into inequalities, making all statements true.

EDIT: pretty much what @Lafexlos did

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
1
  • $\begingroup$ See @Lafexlos's answer $\endgroup$
    – oleslaw
    Oct 14, 2016 at 11:44
3
$\begingroup$

I would

click the edit button and correct the sums by navigating with arrow keys. But not sure if in the answer you intend for us to actually carry this out

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
3
  • $\begingroup$ Yeah, especially that you could navigate through the page elements via keyboar (do whatever you want without clicking at all) $\endgroup$
    – oleslaw
    Oct 14, 2016 at 11:49
  • $\begingroup$ I actually answered this way but I don't think this is a lateral-thinking answer and I deleted my own answer xD $\endgroup$
    – Yandrakus
    Oct 14, 2016 at 11:50
  • $\begingroup$ You have to make the statements correct with just one click. Not with a series of steps including single click action. $\endgroup$
    – AeJey
    Oct 14, 2016 at 11:56
2
$\begingroup$

I do it with an single click..

enter image description here

Explanation:

I simply hover the correct equation on it.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
3
  • $\begingroup$ Don't lie. We know how many clicks you needed to edit that picture :P $\endgroup$
    – m4n0
    Oct 14, 2016 at 11:31
  • $\begingroup$ Explain how you did it. That's the part of the question. $\endgroup$
    – AeJey
    Oct 14, 2016 at 11:35
  • $\begingroup$ Why did you use 18 in the 3rd statement? $\endgroup$
    – m4n0
    Oct 14, 2016 at 11:44
1
$\begingroup$

I just clicked here i.e.Your Answer...and below statements are true now...I have used Tab key and Enter key to post my answer..

Three + Eleven = Fourteen Seven + Five = Twelve Two + Four = Six

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
1
$\begingroup$

Once click, watch me (in your mind)

One click. watch me. I clicked edit. then Tab. then down down down, end backspace X3, F,O,R,T,E,E,N. down. backspace X3. T.W.E.L.V.E down backspace X5 S.I.X Tab, Tab, Write this text, Tab again and Enter.

Peer re-what? darn.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
1
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ You have to make the statements correct with just one click. Not with a series of steps including single click action $\endgroup$
    – AeJey
    Oct 14, 2016 at 11:57

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.