Only those with expert logic skills can solve brainteaser about brothers' age

A brainteaser that requires sound logic has stirred a debate with many people coming to the wrong answer - but there’s a simple solution. can be a fun way to test your critical thinking skills, while also helping to challenge and engage your mind. In some instances, they’re great for people who want to and problem solving abilities. They’re also ideal for getting people to think outside the box in a bid to come up with creative solutions to various scenarios.

Jennie and Nick are content creators who upload brainteasers to their vast online audience each day. In a recent post on , the duo shared a popular brain teaser that caused a stir.

In the short clip, Jennie is behind the camera filming Nick as he struggles to answer a question written in bold lettering on a brightly coloured piece of paper.

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The question is: “When I was four, my brother was half my age. Now I’m 40, how old is my brother?” Nick seemed to struggle with this and first answered: “Okay, so if I’m 40 and he’s half my age, then he’s 20.”

Jennie was quick to tell him he was wrong. Like Nick, many people incorrectly guessed the brother’s age as 20. They halved 40 to get 20, believing that to be the solution to the riddle.

In the comments section beneath the popular video, one person boldly stated: “20 of course” while another said: “Let’s see, half of 4 is 2. Brother will always be half [the] other brother's age. Now big bro is 40 so lil bro is 20.”

But as Jennie pointed out to Nick, that’s not how “actual aging works”. After a few more incorrect guesses, Nick gave up and wanted to hear the correct answer.

To work out the correct answer, it’s best to ignore the way the question is formatted and disregard the fact the younger brother was half the older brother’s age.

The solution doesn’t require halving at all; it simply asks people to think about the age difference between someone who is four-years-old and half of that, which would be someone who is two-years-old.

Half of four is two, which means the between the siblings is two years. This will always be the case, regardless of their age. A two year age gap can’t get any bigger; the siblings were born two years apart and that will never change.

This means when the older sibling is 40, the younger sibling is still only two years younger than them, making them 38. The correct answer is 38.

But even Jennie got this part wrong. She told Nick the correct answer was 42, but this can’t be the case because the four-year-old in the scenario is clearly the eldest sibling because their brother was half their age.

Many people who got the correct answer - 38 - were quick to point this out in the comments section. One person said: “It would be 38 not 42 HELLO”.

Another person commented: “The brother is 2 yrs younger so when the older is 40… 40-2=38!!”

A third said: “Her brother is 38 years old, not 42 like she says in the video” while someone else added: “38. He’s 2 years younger. Always.”