If a question asks whether A is bigger than B, and someone posts reliable sources that provide the size of A and the size of B, and says that since the source for A provides a larger number than the source for B, then A is bigger than B, that is obvious trivial.

However, what if the question asks whether the ratio of A to B is greater than the ratio of C to D, and four sources are provided to give the values of A, B, C, and D, but no source is provided giving the ratio of A to B or the ratio of C to D. If the answer than calculates the ratios and says which one is larger, is that still trivial? I would assume so, but I'm no longer certain if that's what the FAQ answer meant.

What if you have to calculate A / B - C and compare to D / E - F, where you provide sources for each of the items but can not find sources that perform the calculation? Assume that the question pretty much asks for those calculations explicitly. I would assume this is still trivial (we're talking about 4th grade math), but that seems just a step below an answer I gave to the question of whether doctors earn more per hour than teachers over their career after taking into account how much time they spent in school, where I was directed to look at this FAQ.

I know this question might sound combative, but that's not its intent. I truly want to understand best practices at this StackExchange site. Would my answer be better if I just provided the values of A, B, C, D, E, and F and let the readers draw their own conclusions? It doesn't seem that way to me, but that seems to be the message I'm receiving. Could someone clarify that for me? (Again, this is a sincere, non-combative question.)

If a question asks whether A is bigger than B, and someone posts reliable sources that provide the size of A and the size of B, and says that since the source for A provides a larger number than the source for B, then A is bigger than B, that is obvious trivial.

However, what if the question asks whether the ratio of A to B is greater than the ratio of C to D, and four sources are provided to give the values of A, B, C, and D, but no source is provided giving the ratio of A to B or the ratio of C to D. If the answer than calculates the ratios and says which one is larger, is that still trivial? I would assume so, but I'm no longer certain if that's what the FAQ answer meant.

What if you have to calculate A / B - C and compare to D / E - F, where you provide sources for each of the items but can not find sources that perform the calculation? Assume that the question pretty much asks for those calculations explicitly. I would assume this is still trivial (we're talking about 4th grade math), but that seems just a step below an answer I gave to the question of whether doctors earn more per hour than teachers over their career after taking into account how much time they spent in school, where I was directed to look at this FAQ.

I know this question might sound combative, but that's not its intent. I truly want to understand best practices at this StackExchange site. Would my answer be better if I just provided the values of A, B, C, D, E, and F and let the readers draw their own conclusions? It doesn't seem that way to me, but that seems to be the message I'm receiving. Could someone clarify that for me? (Again, this is a sincere, non-combative question.)

If a question asks whether A is bigger than B, and someone posts reliable sources that provide the size of A and the size of B, and says that since the source for A provides a larger number than the source for B, then A is bigger than B, that is obvious trivial.

However, what if the question asks whether the ratio of A to B is greater than the ratio of C to D, and four sources are provided to give the values of A, B, C, and D, but no source is provided giving the ratio of A to B or the ratio of C to D. If the answer than calculates the ratios and says which one is larger, is that still trivial? I would assume so, but I'm no longer certain if that's what the FAQ answer meant.

What if you have to calculate A / B - C and compare to D / E - F, where you provide sources for each of the items but can not find sources that perform the calculation? Assume that the question pretty much asks for those calculations explicitly. I would assume this is still trivial (we're talking about 4th grade math), but that seems just a step below an answer I gave to the question of whether doctors earn more per hour than teachers over their career after taking into account how much time they spent in school, where I was directed to look at this FAQ.

I know this question might sound combative, but that's not its intent. I truly want to understand best practices at this StackExchange site. Would my answer be better if I just provided the values of A, B, C, D, E, and F and let the readers draw their own conclusions? It doesn't seem that way to me, but that seems to be the message I'm receiving. Could someone clarify that for me? (Again, this is a sincere, non-combative question.)

If a question asks whether A is bigger than B, and someone posts reliable sources that provide the size of A and the size of B, and says that since the source for A provides a larger number than the source for B, then A is bigger than B, that is obvious trivial.

However, what if the question asks whether the ratio of A to B is greater than the ratio of C to D, and four sources are provided to give the values of A, B, C, and D, but no source is provided giving the ratio of A to B or the ratio of C to D. If the answer than calculates the ratios and says which one is larger, is that still trivial? I would assume so, but I'm no longer certain if that's what the FAQ answer meant.

What if you have to calculate A / B - C and compare to D / E - F, where you provide sources for each of the items but can not find sources that perform the calculation? Assume that the question pretty much asks for those calculations explicitly. I would assume this is still trivial (we're talking about 4th grade math), but that seems just a step below an answer I gave to the question of whether doctors earn more per hour than teachers over their career after taking into account how much time they spent in school, where I was directed to look at this FAQ.

I know this question might sound combative, but that's not its intent. I truly want to understand best practices at this StackExchange site. Would my answer be better if I just provided the values of A, B, C, D, E, and F and let the readers draw their own conclusions? It doesn't seem that way to me, but that seems to be the message I'm receiving. Could someone clarify that for me? (Again, this is a sincere, non-combative question.)