of the Monty Hall Problem to fool their audience. Here is an easy example of how that is done and this one is far easier to understand than the Monty Hall problem. Without any aids (no calculator, no pen and paper … in fact do not even think too hard) …. Just in your head solve this simple math question:
8 ÷ 2(2+2) = ?
No tricks. A very simple math question. Hucksters use such methods either truly as math and accounting references or perhaps in word choice and by using leading statements that the casual reader does not pause to think about what is actually being presented. Maybe the cult analogy made was not too far. Was your answer 1? After all, the calculation inside the parenthesis is 2+2 = 4 and when multiplied by 2 one gets 8 and 8 divided by 8 is 1. Simple. So where is the manipulation? The answer of course is not 1 but rather is 16.
The question was not 8 ÷ [2(2+2)] because that answer would indeed be 1. Rather the question can be restated as 8 ÷ 2 x (2+2) which is 8 ÷ 2 x 4. Multiplication and division (for the math purists, division of course is really multiplication) have equal weight in the order of operations so the order is simply from left to right and 8 divided by 2 is 4 and 4 multiplied by 4 is 16. Did you get 16 immediately? If so, good for you but remember it does not get easier than this plus you knew there was a trap in that question from the onset and that is not the case when hucksters work their craft. If you got 1 or any answer other than 16 or you can at least see how someone could get to an answer such as 1 then that is the first step in understanding how malign actors work their craft. They only need to move the needle a little bit to influence volume, momentum, sentiment, and ultimately the potential to move the share price.
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