Internet users were transported back to their school days when a perplexing question about time sparked widespread debate. @yawdmontweet, a Jamaican user, posed the question that left him perplexed: “What is the closest hour to midnight?”
Furthermore, the wording of the question encouraged participants to be creative.
The query, viewed more than 1.4 million times, offered four options: A. 11:55, B. 00:06, C. 11:50, and D. 00:03. Many users seemed confused, offering different answers in the comments section.
Difficulty finding the right answer
The prevailing consensus favors option “D.” This choice stands out because only three minutes have passed since midnight, making it the closest time to that precise point. This choice is justified by the fact that all options move forward or backward from the midnight midpoint.
The question, formulated to find the “moment closest to” rather than the “moment closest to,” suggested a different perspective on the progression of time. This interpretation cleared up the confusion of many participants.
Furthermore, the question’s wording encouraged participants to be creative. Instead of relying solely on logic, some considered the proximity of the written word “midnight” to the options. This alternative perspective led them to choose “A,” as it was the closest possible to the word itself.
Those who chose answer “A” may have been misled by the wording. Since the question referred to midnight, or 12:00 PM, entering 11:55 AM may have seemed misleadingly close.
However, the proximity would only have been accurate if the time was 11:55 PM. In reality, the answer, 12:06, corresponded to six minutes past midnight. This nuanced detail puzzled many participants, highlighting the subtleties of the question.
Turning to artificial intelligence for help
Some have found a simple solution: consult the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT instead of using their brains. According to ChatGPT’s explanation:
« The closest time to midnight would be D. 12:03. »
The possibility of two valid answers
The intense debate sparked by this seemingly simple mathematical question has led some to argue that such challenging problems can discourage young students from pursuing the subject. One commentator raised a valid point, suggesting two possible answers based on different interpretations:
If you mean the hour closest to midnight, the answer is A. In this context, D won’t be midnight for almost 24 hours. If you simply mean minutes ahead or behind, the answer is D. Trick questions like these only make kids hate math.
This observation highlighted the ambiguity of these puzzles, underscoring how these nuances can cause frustration and disgust with mathematics among students.
Which option did you choose? A, B, C, or D? Do you agree with the commenter that this confusing question could have more than one correct answer?
