[zwkrt]

The real point is that no one gets the hidden connection. There are lots of tantalizing clues in number theory that lead us to believe there is some fundamental connection between addition and subtraction but we can't state it outright. This toy problem is like a black box in that we can play with it and quantify it's behavior but we don't know (exactly) why it works.

[qubex]

I think you mean “addition and multiplication”, not “multiplication and subtraction”... there definitely is a lot of evidence that addition and subtraction are related, but that’s just plain trivial.

[zwkrt]

Thank you, mobile commenting is a blessing and a curse.

[qubex]

Heh, no worries. I got it wrong too... I meant to write “addition and subtraction” and ended up writing “subtraction and multiplication”... so that’s what I get for trying to be a pedant (and boy do I deserve it).