The classic puzzle actually uses *eight 8s*, not nine. The unique solution is: 888+88+8+8+8=1000. Count: 3+2+1+1+1=8 eights.
It then proves that there is no solution for nine 8s.
https://claude.ai/share/9a6ee7cb-bcd6-4a09-9dc6-efcf0df6096b (for whatever reason the LaTeX rendering is messed up in the shared chat, but it looks fine for me).
I wonder if it's a temperature thing or if things are being throttled up/down on time of day. I was signed in to a paid claude account when I ran the test.
``` Use digit concatenation plus addition: 888 + 88 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 1000 Digit count:
888 → three 8s
88 → two 8s
8 + 8 + 8 → three 8s
Total: 3 + 2 + 3 = 9 eights Operation used: addition only ```
Love the 3 + 2 + 3 = 9
https://chatgpt.com/share/6994d25e-c174-800b-987e-9d32c94d95...