What Is 8 – 8 * 8 + 8? Math Order of Operations Explained

The internet loves a good math trap. Every few weeks, a seemingly harmless arithmetic expression goes viral on social media, sparking thousands of heated arguments in the comment sections. Expressions like 8 – 8 * 8 + 8 are classic examples of how a string of elementary school numbers can completely derail adult logic.

So, what is the actual answer? Let’s break it down.

The Order of Operations Trap

When people look at 8 - 8 * 8 + 8, the most common mistake is reading it purely from left to right like a book:

1. $8 – 8 = 0$
2. $0 times 8 = 0$
3. $0 + 8 = 8$

It feels intuitive, but it is entirely incorrect. Mathematics does not evaluate addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division purely by reading order. Instead, we rely on the universal rules of operator precedence—commonly remembered by acronyms like PEMDAS (Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication and Division, Addition and Subtraction) or BODMAS (Brackets, Orders, Division and Multiplication, Addition and Subtraction).

Under these rules, multiplication and division always take precedence over addition and subtraction.

Step-by-Step Solution

To solve the expression correctly, we isolate the multiplication part first:

1. Perform the multiplication:
   Multiply $8 times 8$, which gives $64$.
   The expression now looks like this:
   8 - 64 + 8

2. Evaluate addition and subtraction from left to right:
   Now that only subtraction and addition remain, we process them strictly from left to right.
   First, calculate $8 – 64$, which equals $-56$.
   The expression is now:
   -56 + 8

3. Finish the calculation:
   Add $8$ to $-56$, which gives -48.

Why Does This Matter?

The reason expressions like this cause chaos online isn’t because mathematics is ambiguous—it’s because human brains look for shortcuts. When we see repeating digits like a row of eights, our pattern-recognition software kicks in, and we tend to rush the arithmetic.

Mathematics is a language built on strict syntax. Without agreed-upon rules like the order of operations, equations would yield different answers depending on who was reading them. In the case of 8 - 8 * 8 + 8, the rules are clear, the steps are precise, and the final destination is -48.