[dayglored]

I think the "weaselly" aspect of the problem as stated is that the slash '/' causes the eye to imagine that it's written in fractional notation. Using the divide symbol '÷' would be less troublesome in this regard.

Now, if the slash were large, and the '8' was written higher, then the fractional nature would have been more evident:

8 /
 / 2(2+2)

But then it wouldn't be confusing, and it wouldn't go viral.

I file this viral "conundrum" under: "Play stupid games, win stupid prizes." I.e. IMO it's just a poorly and confusingly stated, and thus stupid, problem.

Makes about as much sense as:
Q: "What is the difference between a duck?"
A: "Because one feet is both the same."

:-)

[Enterprise]

Well, it’s been quite a few years, but in my education if you showed me 8/2(2+2) I would understand it as algebra, and as SgtHooper explains, the 8 being the numerator and the 2(2+2) being the denominator. If it were a math problem, it would be confusing to write it like this: 8÷2 X 2+2 and expect the answer to be 1.