Okay, so I saw this interesting little puzzle online today – “What 4 numbers add up to 52?” and I thought, “Hey, I can figure this out!” It seemed pretty simple at first, but then I started to, well, overthink it a bit.
My First Attempt: Keep it Simple
My initial approach was super straightforward. I figured, let’s just divide 52 by 4.
- Started by doing 52 / 4 = 13.
- Thought, “Okay, 13 + 13 + 13 + 13 = 52. Done!”
And yeah, that technically works. It’s a solution, but it felt a little too easy. Where’s the fun in that, right? I wanted to see if I could find other combinations.
Getting a Bit More Creative
So, I decided to mix it up. I thought, “What if I don’t use the same number four times?”
- Tried to use numbers close to the average.
- Came up with: 12 + 13 + 14 + 13 = 52.
It is the answer, too!
Thinking Outside the Box (Maybe a Little Too Much)
Then, I got a little carried away. I started thinking about negative numbers.
- Started experimentingwith negative numbers.
- RealizedI could do something like: 100 + 2 -50 – 0 = 52.
It is so crazy!
The Takeaway
It was a fun little exercise! What I learned is that there can be lots of ways to solve a single problem.
