The Trap of the Viral Equation: What Is 8 – 8 * 8 + 8?

Every few weeks, a deceptively simple mathematical expression pops up on social media, instantly dividing the internet into warring camps. People argue passionately in the comments, confident that their answer is the only correct one, while others scratch their heads in total confusion.

One such deceptively tricky expression is:

8 – 8 * 8 + 8

At a glance, it looks like a harmless second-grade arithmetic problem made entirely of eights. Yet, if you ask ten different people for the answer, you are surprisingly likely to get a few different responses.

Let’s break down the math step by step to solve it once and for all—and see why so many people trip up along the way.

The Golden Rule: Order of Operations

The reason expressions like this cause so much chaos online comes down to a universal set of rules known as the order of operations. Across the globe, mathematicians agreed upon a standard sequence to ensure everyone gets the same answer to the same math problem.

You might remember this by acronyms like PEMDAS (Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication and Division, Addition and Subtraction) or BODMAS (Brackets, Orders, Division and Multiplication, Addition and Subtraction).

When we look at our expression, 8 - 8 * 8 + 8, we see two operations at play: subtraction/addition and multiplication.

According to the rules, multiplication must always be performed before addition and subtraction.

Step-by-Step Solution

Let’s apply the order of operations strictly:

Step 1: Tackle the Multiplication

First, isolate the multiplication part of the expression: 8 * 8.

• $8 times 8 = 64$ (Using standard multiplication)

Now, substitute that result back into the original equation. The expression transforms from:
8 - 8 * 8 + 8

Into:
8 - 64 + 8

Step 2: Evaluate Left-to-Right

A very common mistake happens here: people see addition and subtraction and assume addition always comes first (or they group the trailing 8 + 8 together).