Trying to work out 5 − 8, Om says it has no real answer, because you can't take away more than you…

Why

Om's instinct comes from a true and useful rule about COUNTING objects — you genuinely can't physically remove 8 mangoes from a basket that only holds 5. But subtraction on the number line isn't only about removing objects from a pile; it's about moving positions, and you can always keep moving past zero. Start at 5 and move 8 steps to the left: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, and you still have 2 more steps to go, landing on -3. So 5 − 8 = -3, a perfectly real and meaningful answer, just one that lives below zero. This is exactly how a bank account can go into overdraft, or how a temperature can drop from 5°C and keep falling past 0°C down to -3°C — the "running out" feeling Om has isn't running out of math, it's running out of positive numbers, and negative numbers are exactly what waits on the other side. Riya is right: 5 − 8 = -3, and this is the whole reason negative numbers exist.