An American founder and investor has been accused of lying after she claimed that most job-seekers cannot solve a simple algebra problem. Lauren Balik is the founder of Upright Analytics who describes herself as a “data wrangler” on the social media platform X. In a post shared one day ago, Balik alleged that while many people struggle with her basic algebra question, the failure rate is especially high among H-1B visa holders.
In fact, she says that all H-1B visa holders fail to solve the equation.
The equation
So what is this equation that stumps almost everyone? See if you can solve for x:
5(x) + 2 = 12
“I have literally made people solve: ‘5(x) + 2 = 12, what is x?’ in job interviews and most people fail it. CMOs, data engineers, analysts, etc. It's all one big make-work program we've been in since the relational database was released in the 1970s,” Balik wrote.
“All H-1Bs fail 100% of the time but allegedly they are the world's math and database and IT experts and allegedly this is ‘skilled’ employment…” she added.
In this equation, x equals 2. As many people in the comments section of Balik’s now-viral X post pointed out, this is basic algebra and it is highly unlikely that qualified professionals frequently fail to solve this equation.
{{/usCountry}}In this equation, x equals 2. As many people in the comments section of Balik’s now-viral X post pointed out, this is basic algebra and it is highly unlikely that qualified professionals frequently fail to solve this equation.
{{/usCountry}}“All H-1Bs fail 100% of the time but allegedly they are the world's math and database and IT experts and allegedly this is ‘skilled’ employment,” she wrote.
The reactions
Balik’s post has been viewed over 1 million times on X, where many people refused to believe her claims.
“This has never happened so much that it unhappened some of the things that actually happened,” wrote one person in the comments section.
“Data engineers can't solve that equation? The only possible explanation is that they're just looking at it trying to find where is the trap, and are confused because they can't find it,” another theorised.
One person simply wrote: “I refuse to believe people can't solve that.”
Some people straight up called out Balik for racism. They implied that her post was made up to foster hate at a time when H-1B visa holders are already facing a tough time in the US.
“x = racism. To even get selected for a company that sponsors H1B, you have to solve problems much tougher than HS math. 100% of H1B holders absolutely can,” user Amitosh Swain Mahapatra wrote.
“This is absurd. I’ve worked with plenty H-1B folks and they are all skilled in STEM and highly motivated. We have legit immigration issues. Your post is not helpful to that debate,” added Sunil Daluvoy.