Comparing two integers without any comparison

Question

Is it possible to find the greatest of two integers without any comparison? I found some solutions:

if(!(a/b)) // if a is less than b then division result          


        

Answer 1

I just cant see any good reason to do that : who would want to program without "if" ?

a possible answer is :

( ( a + b ) + abs ( a -b ) ) / 2

I guess "abs" just hides a "if" somewhere, just as the ternary operator that is just another name for "if" ...