viral math problem

viral math problem

The Fascinating World of Viral Math Problems

1. Introduction to Viral Math Problems

In particular, a viral math problem is characterized by the rate at which it can infect host or secondary problems, the speed at which it can spread through a population and the capacity at which people both hate and love reportedly easy problems. Furthermore, the geographic focus, the ability to make the observer feel good after solving the initial method of attack, and the self-contained nature of the disease help analysts understand the mechanism. For example, the Four-Color Theorem makes people happy that now even their undergraduate roommates know a special type of graph theory, and that the low barrier of entry combined with the unique insect-invading paradigm differentiates it from the nearly antipodal Twin Prime Conjecture.

A problem is only as difficult as our ability to solve it. So when faced with even a simple riddle, our minds have been hardwired to keep chewing away until we figure it out. As a result, in a world as big as the internet, some questions that have resonated through the years are those that, by design, have tricky resolutions that may defy our logic. Math problems can range in the hundreds for the most basic addition to the thousands for the most complex, and it is human nature to begin with difficulties which are within our grasp. The rise and fall of a viral math problem is thus akin to the importance of the unsolved problems which are assigned monetary values such as the Riemann Hypothesis, Navier-Stokes Equations, Goldbach’s Conjecture, Poincaré Conjecture, and the Collatz Conjecture.

2. Impact and Popularity of Viral Math Problems

Some full-time mathematicians are also drawn to exceptional mathematical challenges, whether they are word problems or questions concerning any other mathematical structure. Andrejs Treibergs, a Delmar J. King Associate Professor of Mathematics at Otterbein College, is a professional user and creator of interesting word problems. According to Treibergs, good word problems “are interesting not just for their story—we discuss area, volume, and many other centered themes all the way through to calculus.” Now, our contemporary problem-solving ancestors may turn to word problems as a daily source of practice and mentorship, but why would we bother as full-fledged, 21st-century adults to revisit these mathematical stories? Aren’t stories just for children who first need to learn tall tales before proving rigorous truths? Not necessarily! For mathematicians, solving word problems of increasing complexity might lead to deeper insights about what drives the chosen tales, how we might summarize their important points and pull the characters together, whatever their field.

Word problems often have reputations for stumping people—they can raise anxious feelings and induce hand-wringing, but sometimes, people seem to go out of their way to solve particularly cumbersome and complex ones. As a result, some particularly difficult word problems achieve a sort of viral status in the mathematics community, circling through social media sites as well as being shared as bar bets, dinner table conversation marathoners, and other sorts of party tricks. Remarks about special speed and/or efficiency required to solve such “challenges” are often made while passing these problems along, which claim to tell curious solvers “not to use pen and paper!” to genuinely solve. Such whimsical adventures in word problem solving can be a fun diversion for many amateur mathematicians, but for professional researchers, these difficulties are fascinating not only for their appeal but also for the insights they may provide about the link between mathematical structure and biological function.

3. Analysis of Key Viral Math Problems

The morning-to-afternoon brain teaser is described as follows: one is to express the time when the diagonal line of a clock passes the 60° angle with the vertical. This is an insidious question in that it requires mathematical knowledge to understand the question; once resolved you immediately realize that it is indeed a precise question; a bit more thought is needed to actually solve it, and you would probably be able to answer it correctly only after minutes. Some claimed that the whole thing is nonsense because the diagonal of a circle has no mathematical meaning.

The internet can’t get enough of tricky math problems. A year and a half ago, a tongue-in-cheek 1970 math joke about turning morning into afternoon stumped the brightest brains in science 20 times over. We also discovered an unsolvable pattern-matching puzzle and asked for your approach. The inquiries stuck with me, and now I’d like to revisit them so we can see where we went right and where we went wrong.

4. Strategies for Solving Viral Math Problems

Over the last five decades, the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) has followed in the footsteps of renowned mathematician Paul Erdős and launched engaging and accessible problems to challenge students at all levels in their exploration of math. That tradition continues at the MAA. With the advent of email, the communication of these problems were transmitted virally, making them even more accessible to problem solvers around the world. Each year, the MAA receives hundreds of solutions from participants ages from 2 to 103 from nations far and wide. Last year’s submissions returned to the MAA from Antarctica after visiting all seven continents. As the ease of viral communication has advanced, so has the lensing of problems to involve participants with diverse interests, backgrounds, experiences, and talent levels. This lecture will explore the creation of these problems, highlight select problems and their solutions from the 2021 MAA AMC 8, 10, 12, and AIME contests, and preview problem possibilities from future MAA contests.

Meghan, along with Bella, Nick, and Spencer, is 10 years old. Bella is 9 months older than Meghan and Nick is 6 months older than Spencer. In puzzle world, children age in months. When the four ages are added together, the total is 40 years. Had Meghan been born 3 months earlier, Bella 6 months earlier, Nick 9 months earlier, and Spencer 1 year earlier, the total of the four ages would still be 40 in actual years. Meghan’s mom, Marina, is currently 42 years old. Will she be able to make the same age claim as Meghan when she is Spencer’s age?

5. Conclusion and Future Trends

Open questions about the generation of viral math problems were presented in the case studies. Results determined from a mixed-method analysis on data of thousands of empirical math problems were also discussed. Future research can analyze different submissions of the same viral math problem and solution variations based on the problem posting dates. Another potential future work can evaluate how the scientific dissemination of math problems differs from these patterns on non-scientific and pure recreational math problem dissemination. Alternative approaches to leverage the succinct and simplified online solving of famous math problems in adaptive educational software tools are also interesting to explore.

In summary, we have profiled some of the most famous math problems, which have gone viral on social media and in some cases have become part of history. We also explored a few interesting case studies of such viral math problems and argued that online platforms provide a new venue for phrasing, discussing, and solving math problems. Many historical math problems express messages (philosophical, ethical, or political) that were relevant at the time, in the culture of the problem creators and the target audience. During the development and expansion of the internet, these communication channels and their content revolutionized, and the evolution played out into the problem dynamics.