Joseph Rosenfeld, a 15-year-old Virginia wise guy who visited the Boston Museum of Science in June only to allegedly find an error in a 34-year-old exhibit on the Golden Ratio there, had his ass handed to him by an MIT professor who says that actually his “correction” was wrong. Ooohhhhhhhhhhhhhh dip.

The Boston Museum of Science originally showed respect and deference to Rosenfeld after the teen explained that the way the Golden Ratio was shown in the Mathematica exhibit at the museum was wrong. As Boston.com tells it, Alana Parkes, a content developer for the museum wrote to Rosenfeld’s family in a letter, “You are right that the formula for the Golden Ratio is incorrect. We will be changing the – sign to a + sign on the three places it appears if we can manage to do it without damaging the original.” Wow, good work, smart teen.

Or was it?

Later on Tuesday, the Museum tweeted out this statement:

According to the AP, MIT Professor Emeritus Arthur Mattuck said that “the two formulas are equal” and that “Joseph presented the fraction upside-down.” How do you like them apples, brother? Sounds like you got some hunting to do...for your dignity!!!!

One thing that definitely checks out: Boston still sucks.

Image via Wikimedia. Contact the author at dayna.evans@gawker.com.