For the book by Alphonse Allais, see Deux et deux font cinq. For the Radiohead song, see 2 + 2 = 5 (song). Two Plus Two Make Five (1895), by Alphonse Allais, is a collection of absurdist short stories about anti-intellectualism as politics. 2 + 2 = 5 or two plus two equals five is a mathematical falsehood which is used as an example of a simple logical error that is obvious to anyone familiar with