Lamsa Bible:
Aramaic Peshitta Bible Repository
The Infamous Missing Dollar - "Found"
The solution lies in the way the
question is asked. The question is quite nasty in that it forces you to assume
that the extra $2 must be added to the net amount paid by the 3 men which was
$27. That adds to $29. omg $1 is missing! like, omg!
But WHY should the $2 get added to the $27? There is no mathematical reason for
doing so!
The men paid $27 instead of $25 which is $2 too much. The question then is not
"Where is the missing dollar?", but "Where is the missing $2?" The bellhop has
it. Nothing else is "missing".
The amount the bellhop keeps should never be added, only subtracted (from the
total amount paid), because the bellhop has the difference between what the
hotel has ($25) and what the 3 men eventually paid ($27).
To elaborate, once the $3 is given back to the men it is established that they
paid $27 for the room. Forget about $30, it is gone, that is part of another
equation. By giving the $3 back we have killed the $30 and made it $27. So now
the only numbers we have are $27 and $2. How do we get this to $25? Subtract the
$2. Now they paid $27 for a $25 room leaving $2, which the bellhop keeps.
The whole problem lies in the question which virtually forces you to assume that
adding the $2 to the $27 is acceptable, while there is actually no reason to do
so.