And what about the empty space in the center? Could an apple have been there before someone took it away?

These are fun possibilities, but they don't change the basic counting problem. Without additional information, the image alone cannot tell us how many physical apples were originally photographed.

What About the Seeds?

Suppose each of the eight halves contains two visible seeds.

That would give us 16 seeds altogether.

But counting seeds answers a different question. It tells us how many seeds are visible, not how many whole apples the halves represent.

That's the real trick behind this puzzle: the way you interpret the question determines the answer.

So, What's Your Final Answer?

If you're counting the visible pieces, there are eight apple halves.

If you're calculating how many whole apples those halves represent, there are four apples—assuming each original apple was cut into two halves.

No complicated mathematics is required. You simply need to decide what you're counting.

Now it's your turn: Did you think of 4 or 8 first? Share your answer and see how other people interpret the puzzle!