Two and two is...Five.
Like in Goldstein's book, which is supposedly the bible of a rebel who is supposedly oh-so-different from 'Big Brother'.
The book explains that the three powers are involved in a perpetual war, and that this war is unwinnable because the three powers are perfectly balanced; they are so powerful that not even any combination of two could overcome the third.
Imagine two boxers:
Strength, agility, skill, technique and training- everything about them is equal.
There is no real differnce between them- like two clones.
Then the outcome of the boxing-match would be a stalemate.
Now imagine three of those clone-boxers in the ring, with two of them ganging up on the third.
The outcome would be a foregone conclusion.
Ah- but each of them is powerful enough to deal even with two...
Well, that would be the same as if there would be six clones in the ring, since each of the three would effectively be like two regular boxers.
So, you just have four against two...
And the outcome would still be a foregone conclusion.
The supposed balance does not exist.
The book was written by a collective of writers, including O'Brien. It's used to generate Goldstein's followers, so that a steady stream of 'enemies of the state' can be presented to the public.
Everything in that book must be seen in that light:
It's made of logical fallacies...