Accounting Memes

This is what happens when accounting and math skills collide with farming! The confusion stems from a classic profit calculation mistake. When you buy at $800 and sell at $1000, you gain $200. Then buy again at $1100 and sell at $1300, gaining another $200. That's a total profit of $400! But wait! Many people mistakenly calculate $1300 - $800 = $500 as the profit, completely ignoring that second purchase price. The cow economics here are udderly important! You can't just subtract final sale from initial purchase when there are multiple transactions in between. That's how financial delusions are born! Next time someone tries to convince you they made $500 on this cow carousel, just remember: cash flow tracking is the difference between actual profit and financial fantasy!

Benjamin Franklin is silently judging everyone who gets this wrong. The store lost $100, not $130 or $70 or whatever creative accounting people are attempting. It's a simple conservation of currency problem—the kind of thing that makes mathematicians drink heavily after grading exams. The thief walks away with $30 cash plus $70 in goods, totaling exactly $100 of ill-gotten gains. The store's register is down one Benjamin. Basic arithmetic shouldn't require a PhD, yet here we are.

The eternal struggle between mathematicians and economists on full display! This seemingly simple problem is a beautiful trap for the brain. The store lost $100 (the stolen bill) plus $30 (the change given back) = $130, right? WRONG! That's the cognitive illusion at work. The correct answer is $100. The thief stole $100 and received $30 in legitimate change after purchasing $70 worth of goods. The store lost the original $100 bill and $70 worth of merchandise, but received back the same $100 bill, making the net loss exactly $100. This is why accountants drink heavily and why double-entry bookkeeping was invented. Conservation of money is harder than conservation of energy!