A Fruit Maths Game became Viral

I found something funny and interesting on the Great World Wide Web ^_^ And I thought I will share this with you. Here is the question:

The question is not hard from a mathematical point of view, even though people are starting long conversations about how maths is tricky and frustrating after looking at this question. From my point of view this question is more related to paying attention to the image rather than to used high mathematics. I find that sometimes some people want to find more and more reasons to say mathematics is hard.

The question uses basic algebra skills and there is nothing incredibly complicated. Finding the values of each type of fruit is easy: an apple is worth 10, bananas are worth 4 and a coconut is 2. The question at the end is not even extreme if you pay attention to how many of each do you have in there: half a coconut, an apple, 3 bananas. So what do you think should be the answer? Let me know in the comment box bellow. 

From my point of view this questions becomes hard when you get tricked by the quantities on the last row. You are tricked to seen things that aren’t there. Many people don’t notice that the coconut is halved and that there are just 3 bananas and not 4 like on the above rows. Therefore, getting the puzzle wrong doesn’t mean you have lost your ability to do basic algebra, or that mathematics is so incredibly hard. On the other hand, getting the right answer doesn’t mean you are a genius or an incredible mathematician. The only thing I can say about those that get the question right is that they have sharp eyes and pay more attention to details.

I have decided to write about this due to some comments and opinions I have found on the social media (especially Facebook) about this question. From my point of view, drawing conclusions about your mathematical abilities or what mathematics really is from this type of questions/games is wrong on many levels and I would like to see people be more realistic about things. Let me know what you think about all of this in comment box bellow.

Have a great day and it. And don’t forget to kiss and hug your mother incredibly tight for Mother’s Day. You can find me on Facebook,  Tumblr,  Google+,  Twitter,  Instagram  and  WeHeartIt. I will try to post there as often as possible.

Don’t forget that maths is everywhere! Enjoy! ~LThMath