English Person or a Math Person?

[shadowkat]

It's Monday and I've gotten more done than I thought, considering I can't seem to get myself to focus for long on anything. What is it about Mondays?
Easily distracted. Friday's - I'm exhausted.

Anywho...one of the chief deputy directors came by with this question - which he was asked on an interview once:

Is it:

Two plus two is five

or

Two plus two are five

[Note 2 plus 2 equals five was not an option.]

Comments

[annegables.livejournal.com]

So did he answer:
1) Grammatically speaking - the second is correct or
2) Mathematically speaking - neither is correct?

Is there a preferred answer to this question on a job application?

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Yep that's what I figured out.

But I'm not sure what the answer is. He never really told me.
It's one of those things I overheard them talking about in the hallway outside my cubicle. And I made the mistake of interjecting and sort of wishing I hadn't. I guessed one and apparently two was what they were going for.

[atpo-onm.livejournal.com]

It would depend on the context, who was speaking. Depending, I might use either.

Why does this make me think of Orwell's 1984, where his torturer was eventually able to convince Winston Smith that indeed, the answer was whatever the state wanted it to be?

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

I had decided to go with the grammatical rule - are.
Two objects = are. But the mathematician response was of course neither.

I think the correct one may be neither for both. But I'm not sure. Bizarre question.

It's one of those things you hear outside your cubicle, interject, then sort of wish you'd kept your mouth shut and pretended you didn't hear. The multi hazards of cubicle land. ;-)

And yep, it does have a definite orwellian vibe.