What Is 'Huberman Math'? The Meme About Failing To Understand Statistics, Explained

Two plus two equals four, but if you're Andrew Huberman, it might equal one hundred and twenty. At least that's what a new meme about the scientist podcaster doing math seems to indicate. The internet has a long tradition of turning embarrassing moments from somebody's life into the source of an awkward fifteen minutes of fame. So let's explain what's going on with Huberman's Math

Where Does The 'Huberman's Math' Meme Come From?

In a January 23rd, 2024 episode of his podcast, neuroscientist and influencer Andrew Huberman discussed fertility among males and female humans. At one point, he calculated the probability of an average woman under thirty becoming pregnant after six attempts, erroneously placing it at 120% by doing an inaccurate statistical calculation. Huberman later clarified that the real probability of pregnancy in that situation would be around 73 percent.

But his one slip of the tongue and miscalculation become viral fodder for a series of memes about the kinds of mistakes everybody makes. The memes echo a criticism sometimes been levied against Huberman that when he speaks about topics outside his area of expertise in neuroscience, he tends to oversimplify or miss important parts of the picture.

What Is 'Huberman's Math'?

Huberman's Math, or "Hubermath," seems to be any kind of math that makes mistakes in calculating chance and probability. Often, this math can be the result of errors in thinking and logic or just simple errors in calculation.

How Do People Use The 'Huberman's Math' Meme?

People started using the meme to represent a classic situation, frequently seen on both the internet and in real life: somebody saying something wrong with a high degree of confidence. Huberman's face would be captioned with a bold but very incorrect claim, which didn't necessarily have to be mathematical.

For the full history of Huberman's Math, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.