Maths equation only 'true genius' can solve in 30 seconds
There are different ways to measure intelligence, and while Marilyn vos Savant has the highest recorded IQ at 228, William James Sidis was reported to have an IQ of up to 300. IQ tests weren't around in Leonardo da Vinci's days, but many believe he could've had the highest of all time.
Even though IQ tests are all the rage in 2025, there's a debate around the likes of emotional intelligence and Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences, proposing that there are actually eight different types of intelligence.
According to one viral math problem, only a 'true genius' can solve it in 30 seconds or less. Math can be used for a whole number of things, with someone claiming they've used it to win the lottery 14 times, and a Harvard scientist saying it can be used to prove the existence of God.
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Now, The Mirror has pitched this brain-scratching brain teaser and given wannabe Lisa Simpsons just 30 seconds to solve it. The puzzle was originally shared by @RHSTUDYZONE, asking you to figure out the answer to the equation and work out 4 x y if we know that x + y = 3 and that x - y = 1. It seems straightforward, but as the clock ticks, it's not as simple as you might think.
It might not be as hard as the math problem one genius turned down $1 million after he solved, but keep reading to find out the elusive answer.
Drumroll...the answer is 8.
It seems some of you will have to be ripping up your Mensa applications because the replies to the original tweet had many thinking the solution is (incorrectly) 4.
As The Mirror adds, the working out explains:
- X = 1 + Y.
- 1 + Y + Y = 3.
- 2Y = 2.
- Y = 1.
- X + 1 = 3.
- X = 2
- 4 * 2 * 1 = 8.
The question is, could the man who became a math genius due to a brain injury solve the math problem? One person who might be able to is child genius Jacob Young, who in 2024, was accepted into Mensa as its youngest member ever. Aged just five at the time, Young scored in the top 1% of the world's largest and oldest IQ society.
Speaking to KKTV, Young's mom said that his favorite topics include airplanes, sharks, deep space, and the Titanic, but his curiosity goes far beyond that as he demands to know how planes work and which sharks are the fastest.
Renee Young added: "He watches documentaries with us. He loves the History Channel. The conversations are like what you might have in a high school or college class, but it’s with our five-year-old at the dinner table."
The doctor testing Jacob apparently suggested they the family start looking for specialist schools or even consider Mensa to help him meet 'like-minded peers' who could help "challenge him outside the school setting."
Mensa has around 150,000 members in 90 countries, but with only those scoring in the top 2% qualifying, Young outshone most after he took the several-hour-long test. Now, see if he can solve the algebra equation.