Harvard Promotes Claim that ‘2+2=5’

On Sunday, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health promoted research on Twitter by one doctoral student that claims that two plus two can equal five. The research was quickly mocked by Twitter users, many of whom questioned the value of a Harvard education.

In a Twitter thread published at the beginning of August, Harvard doctoral student Kareem Carr explained why some theorists believe that two plus two equals five. Carr claims that mathematical equations, such as two plus two equals four, are abstractions.

On Sunday, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health promoted Carr’s thread, inviting questions about the current quality of a Harvard education.

Have you ever thought to yourself, "How do I know that 2+2=4? Why isn't it 2+2+5?" PhD student @kareem_carr talks about numbers and abstraction with @PopMech https://t.co/UIo4MJsgqO @HarvardGSAS

— HarvardPublicHealth (@HarvardChanSPH) August 30, 2020

“Statements like “2+2 = 4” are abstractions. What that means is they’re generalizations of “something”. You should always think of these statements as associated with an underlying reality,” Carr wrote. “As a data analyst, I love numbers but It’s my job to connect them to reality.:

Statements like "2+2 = 4" are abstractions. What that means is they're generalizations of "something". You should always think of these statements as associated with an underlying reality. As a data analyst, I love numbers but It's my job to connect them to reality. 2/

— 🔥Kareem Carr🔥 (@kareem_carr) August 2, 2020

Carr claims that the mathematical equations society uses to represent real-world scenarios are not always applicable. “Literal-minded people might sometimes say things like I put a rooster and hen together and I came back a year later and there were three of them (1+1=3) or they might say I left a fox and a hen together and later I came back and there was only one (1+1=1),” Carr tweeted.

Literal-minded people might sometimes say things like I put a rooster and hen together and I came back a year later and there were three of them (1+1=3) or they might say I left a fox and a hen together and later I came back and there was only one (1+1=1). 3/

— 🔥Kareem Carr🔥 (@kareem_carr) August 2, 2020

Harvard and Carr were roundly mocked by Twitter users on Sunday. “This is how bad the education system is now. Literally Orwellian,” one user wrote.

“The scary kind of stupidity is attempting to change what is into what it isn’t,” another user added.

“…and to think I wanted to go to Harvard when I was a kid,” comedian Bridget Phetasy wrote.

and to think i wanted to go to harvard when i was a kid

— Bridget Phetasy (@BridgetPhetasy) August 30, 2020

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