# Not sure why there is a huge number of downvotes on my question?

I don't understand the downvotes on my question here: Make $2$ cubes out of $1729$ unit cubes, expected number of times you have to paint

I had shown my work so far, and was not asking for a complete solution but just some help with getting unstuck. Furthermore, this is not a homework question, as it's a question from a math competition from over a decade ago. So I'm not sure why as of now there are 6 downvotes without explanation... does anybody know? It's fine to downvote and then give a reason in the comments, which would help me with asking better questions in the future, but 6 people downvoted as if the reason for doing so was self-evident.

• Eight downvotes without a single close vote/comment is suggestive of targeted downvoting. Please consider flagging. Jan 3 at 11:59
• I have no comment on why it is being downvoted, but putting meta commentary in the question itself doesn't help with that. A comment with a link to this meta question would be appropriate, and/or a request for explanation of downvotes so that the issue can be fixed.
– Nij
Jan 3 at 12:28
• What might help, given that you already got an upvoted Answer, is to include in the body of your Question some information about your mathematical background and what being "stuck" means. You carried out one step of the calculation, and a naive approach would go on with steps until the expected number of painted faces reaches one half of the total. If the existing Answer does not help, it may be too advanced in its presentation, but Readers will have no real basis for guessing why it is unsatisfactory to you. Jan 3 at 18:12
• Also, @Emper you've asked an awful lot of contest/test questions recently, some of which have since been deleted. Also, in this question, and another you have bountied, you seek to avoid closure by seven days by placing the bare minimum of 50 rep bounties onf not-so-well-received questions, currently. Don't immediately blame others for the reception of your questions. It is legitimate to raise the question after you do your part to work on the many many many suggestions you've received on various questions of yours. Jan 3 at 18:59