Two plus two make five
The phrase
"two plus two make five" (or
"2 + 2 = 5") is sometimes used as a succinct and vivid representation of an
illogical statement, especially one made and maintained to suit an
ideological agenda. Its common use originates from its inclusion in the novel
Nineteen Eighty-Four by
George Orwell (Part Three, Chapter Two), where it is contrasted with the true, mathematical phrase "two plus two make four." Orwell's protaganist, Winston Smith, uses it to consider the possibility that the State might declare "two plus two makes five" as a fact; he ponders that if everybody believes in it, does that make it true?