# What to do with false answers

One of the things I like is the possibility (when I get something wrong, or just because I want to know how other did it) to look up the answers. Now there are some solutions which contain errors, some are mild, some are fatal. Most of the time the error gets picked up in a comment.

What I find disturbing is that some solutions which are false (and may or not may have been found so) get a lot of upvotes. In some cases this even makes it impossible for the few correct solutions to be upvoted (because only the 3 solutions with the most votes are displayed by default and most people don't read past that). It seems most people don't read also the comments to check if the solutions was correct or not.

A fragrant example of this is the "Donut Problem!" where literally all the solutions are wrong or incomplete (because the problem is actually really hard).

Bottom line: is there a way to mark false solutions as such so that, at least, the people take the time to look into the comments... I don't mind reading other peoples mistakes, it's also a nice way to learn. But learning that a mistake is correct, is not really productive.

Note by Antoine G
1 year, 6 months ago

This discussion board is a place to discuss our Daily Challenges and the math and science related to those challenges. Explanations are more than just a solution — they should explain the steps and thinking strategies that you used to obtain the solution. Comments should further the discussion of math and science.

When posting on Brilliant:

• Use the emojis to react to an explanation, whether you're congratulating a job well done , or just really confused .
• Ask specific questions about the challenge or the steps in somebody's explanation. Well-posed questions can add a lot to the discussion, but posting "I don't understand!" doesn't help anyone.
• Try to contribute something new to the discussion, whether it is an extension, generalization or other idea related to the challenge.

MarkdownAppears as
*italics* or _italics_ italics
**bold** or __bold__ bold
- bulleted- list
• bulleted
• list
1. numbered2. list
1. numbered
2. list
Note: you must add a full line of space before and after lists for them to show up correctly
paragraph 1paragraph 2

paragraph 1

paragraph 2

[example link](https://brilliant.org)example link
> This is a quote
This is a quote
    # I indented these lines
# 4 spaces, and now they show
# up as a code block.

print "hello world"
# I indented these lines
# 4 spaces, and now they show
# up as a code block.

print "hello world"
MathAppears as
Remember to wrap math in $$ ... $$ or $ ... $ to ensure proper formatting.
2 \times 3 $2 \times 3$
2^{34} $2^{34}$
a_{i-1} $a_{i-1}$
\frac{2}{3} $\frac{2}{3}$
\sqrt{2} $\sqrt{2}$
\sum_{i=1}^3 $\sum_{i=1}^3$
\sin \theta $\sin \theta$
\boxed{123} $\boxed{123}$

Sort by:

I think the best you can do right now is to leave a comment under the faulty solution. Also remember to click the report button and submit a report if the given answer is wrong as well.

- 1 year, 6 months ago

Thanks! But what is the degree of "falseness" required before I hit the report button?

Take the (Donut Problem)[https://brilliant.org/problems/donut-problem/] as an example. Some solutions are wrong (they confuse two very distinct objects with distinct properties: the round torus and the flat torus). Other solutions are just incomplete.

In other problems there is just a gap in the proof. Should I just comment and report if the gap is not closed after, say, a week?

- 1 year, 6 months ago

- 1 year, 6 months ago

Just to avoid confusion: I don't mind pushing the report button, but if it's done too often, it's not productive anymore (It would just clump the report system)

- 1 year, 6 months ago

Thanks Antoine, I understand your concern. The report button is usually meant to be for cases when the answer of the problem itself is wrong. If some solution is wrong, then it's often a better idea to just comment under their solution.

- 1 year, 6 months ago