A photo of a handwritten note on aged paper is going around right now. The equation is almost insultingly simple – and above it, in the same handwriting, a warning:
8 – 2 × 3 + 6 = ?
“Answer is not 24.”
The note is right, and that is exactly why the puzzle works. Ask ten people and most of them will say 24 with total confidence. Here is the real step-by-step solution, and an honest look at the two wrong answers that feel so convincing.
Why almost everyone says 24
The “24” answer comes from solving the equation the way you read a sentence – strictly left to right: 8 – 2 = 6, then 6 × 3 = 18, then 18 + 6 = 24. It feels orderly, methodical, careful. It is also wrong, because school math does not work left to right when different operations are mixed in one line.
The one rule that decides it
Mixed equations follow a strict order – PEMDAS (or BODMAS, same thing): Parentheses first, then Exponents, then Multiplication and Division from left to right, then Addition and Subtraction from left to right.
The deciding line: multiplication outranks addition and subtraction. It does not matter that the × sits in the middle of the line. It goes first.
Solving it step by step
Step 1 – Do the multiplication first.
2 × 3 = 6
Step 2 – Rewrite the equation with that result.
8 – 6 + 6
Step 3 – Now only addition and subtraction remain, so go left to right.
8 – 6 = 2, then 2 + 6 = 8.
Answer: 8. No trick, no alternative reading – 8 is the only answer that follows the rules.
The second trap: why some people say -4 or 2
There is a subtler trap hiding in Step 3. Even people who spot the multiplication sometimes add before they subtract: 6 + 6 = 12 first, then 8 – 12, landing on -4 (or mangling it into 2). That is the “addition comes before subtraction” myth – it does not. Addition and subtraction are equals, and equals are handled left to right. 8 – 6 + 6 is 2 + 6, not 8 – 12.
Why 24 is such a convincing wrong answer
24 wins the comment sections because left-to-right is how we read everything else in life. Your brain treats the equation as a sentence and solves it in reading order. These viral puzzles are not testing your arithmetic – they are testing whether you notice the one symbol that outranks the rest. It is the same reason these puzzles break the internet every few months: the eye reads left to right, and the rulebook says otherwise – try our free step-by-step calculators and watch it happen.
The 3-second check that saves you
Before you answer any mixed equation, scan it once for × and ÷ and do those first. That single habit kills every puzzle in this family. Three verified examples:
10 – 4 × 2 + 5 → 4 × 2 = 8, then 10 – 8 + 5 = 7 (not 17)
9 + 3 × 2 – 6 → 3 × 2 = 6, then 9 + 6 – 6 = 9 (not 12)
20 – 5 × 3 + 2 → 5 × 3 = 15, then 20 – 15 + 2 = 7 (not 47)
Thirty seconds of discipline beats three seconds of confidence. Once you see the × hiding in the middle of the line, the puzzle collapses – and the handwritten note starts making sense.