A multiple choice question where all the answers are wrong, says nothing about math or the mathematical understanding of the general population.
This is engagementbait and its hooked you too.
No u
im had
No, you’re Hildegarde
no u
ur trans now not sorry
That’s normal for multiple choice, and sometimes all the answers are correct. You’re supposed to pick the most correct based on the viewpoint of the course.
We can assume it’s 16 because the audience weren’t taught order of operations. (2+2)*4
That’s normal for multiple choice
No it isn’t.
sometimes all the answers are correct
Not in multiple choice they aren’t. At best you might have “D) All of the above” if there’s genuinely more than 1 answer
We can assume
Someone screwed up somewhere, and there will be lots of complaints from students. Despite it being “you only had 1 job”, proofreaders still miss things sometimes…

All I can assume from you is that you never did multiple choice questions in University.
There’s a reason essay questions are considered easier.
All I can assume from you is that you never did multiple choice questions in University
That would be a wrong assumption.
There’s a reason essay questions are considered easier.
They’re not! 😂
Was this multiple choice? Because if 10 isn’t an option, people are just going to answer whatever.
It was engagement bait. It’s always engagement bait.
It’s not a bad analogy for american democracy. None of the options are correct, so you either pick the wrong answer that makes some amount of sense or write in the correct answer and be completely ignored in the tally of results.
This is why I write it as 2+(2x4). The parentheses aren’t techniclly necessary, but they do make it clearer to people who haven’t been in a school for 35 years.
just get rid of the x. 2+(24) = 26
Why write more than necessary? Surely 26 = 26 is enough.
because i like getting rid of the x. it reminds me of her. like flushing.
2+8x
This isn’t even math, just convention on rules for order of operations.
Order of operations only has one rule: Bedmas (or pemdas if you’re not from north america)
Huh it was always pemdas in both highschool and college in new England for me… they were also always parentheses. ‘Brackets’ only reffered to ‘[ ]’ which were reserved for matrices or number sets, eg 2*[2,5,8]+2= [6,12,18]
I think canadians call ( ) brackets in math
If you look at the arguments on math forums, you’ll see that there isn’t just one rule.
It is a convention, and different places teach different conventions.
Namely, some places say thatPEDMASis a very strict order. Other places say that it isPE D|M A|S, where D and M are the same level and order is left-to-right, and same with addition vs subtraction.
And others, even in this post, say it’sPEMDAS, which I have heard before.“Correct” and “incorrect” don’t apply to conventions, it’s simply a matter of if the people talking agree on the convention to use. And there are clearly at least three that highly educated people use and can’t agree on.
different places teach different conventions
But they all teach the same rules
some places say that PEDMAS is a very strict order
Which is totally fine and works
Other places say that it is PE D|M A|S,
Which is also totally fine and works
even in this post, say it’s PEMDAS
Also totally fine and works
it’s simply a matter of if the people talking agree on the convention to use
No-one has to agree on any convention - they can use whatever they want and as long as they obey the rules it will work
can’t agree on
Educated people agree that which convention you use doesn’t matter.
That’s not true Here is an example:
8÷2x4
PEMDAS: 8÷2x4 = 8÷8 = 1
PEDMAS: 8÷2x4 = 4x4 = 16
PE M|D A|S: 8÷2x4 = 4x4 = 16
And thats not even getting into juxtaposition operations, where fields like physics use conventions that differ from most other field.but you’re missing the point. It could be SAMDEP and math would still work, you’d just rearrange the equation. Just like with prefix or postfix notation. The rules don’t change, just the notation conventions change. But you need to agree on the notation conventions to reach the same answer.
That’s not true
Yes it is
PEDMAS: 8÷2x4 = 4x4 = 16
Yep.
PEMDAS: 8÷2x4 = 8÷8 = 1
Nope. PEMDAS: 8x4÷2 = 32÷2 = 16. What you actually did is 8÷(2x4), in which you changed the sign in front of the 4 - 8÷(2x4)= 8÷2÷4 - hence your wrong answer
PE M|D A|S: 8÷2x4 = 4x4 = 16
Yep, same answer regardless of the order 🙄
And thats not even getting into juxtaposition operations,
Which I have no doubt you don’t understand how to do those either, given you don’t know how to even do Multiplication first in this example.
where fields like physics use conventions that differ from most other field
Nope! The obey all the rules of Maths. They would get wrong answers if they didn’t
you’re missing the point
No, you are…
It could be SAMDEP and math would still work
No it can’t because no it wouldn’t 😂
you’d just rearrange the equation.
Says someone who didn’t rearrange “PEMDAS: 8÷2x4 = 8÷8 = 1” and got the wrong answer 😂
The rules don’t change
Hence why “PEMDAS: 8÷2x4 = 8÷8 = 1” was wrong. You violated the rule of Left Associativity
Ok, then explain prefix and postfix, where these conventions don’t apply. How can these be rules of math when they didn’t universally apply?
Says someone who didn’t rearrange "PEMDAS
The order of operations tells us how to interpret an equation without rearranging it. When you pick a different convention, you need to rearrange it to get the same answer. What you did was rearrange the equation, which you can only do if you are already following a specific convention.
No it can’t because no it wouldn’t 😂
All conventions can produce the correct answer, when appropriately arranged for that convention, because the conventions are not laws of mathematics, they are conventions.
Nope! The obey all the rules of Maths. They would get wrong answers if they didn’t
They obey the laws of math. Conventions aren’t laws of math, they’re conventions. And a quick Google search will tell you that not everyone puts juxtaposition at a higher precedent than multiplication; it’s a convention. As long as people are using the same convention, they’ll agree on an answer and that answer is correct.
You can be mean all you like, that doesn’t change the nature of conventions
Ok, then explain prefix and postfix, where these conventions don’t apply
The conventions don’t apply, the rules still apply. Maths notation and the rules of Maths aren’t the same thing.
How can these be rules of math when they didn’t universally apply?
The rules do universally apply 🙄
The order of operations tells us how to interpret an equation without rearranging it
Yep, and you showed you don’t know the rules 🙄
When you pick a different convention, you need to rearrange it to get the same answer
Not necessarily, though it makes it easier (but also leads a lot of people to make mistakes with signs, as you found out 😂 )
What you did was rearrange the equation
To show you how to correctly do “Multiplication first”. 🙄
which you can only do if you are already following a specific convention
Which you didn’t, hence why you ended up with a wrong answer. 🙄 There is no textbook which says put the multiplication in Brackets if doing “Multiplication first”, none.
because the conventions are not laws of mathematics, they are conventions
And putting the Multiplication inside Brackets isn’t a convention anywhere 🙄
They obey the laws of math. Conventions aren’t laws of math, they’re conventions
Yep, and you ignored both, hence your wrong answer 🙄
And a quick Google search will tell you that not everyone puts juxtaposition at a higher precedent than multiplication
And a quick look in the Google support forum will show you many people telling them that is wrong, and Google just closes the incident 🙄
it’s a convention
No it isn’t. It’s against the rules. 🙄 Again, you won’t find this alleged “convention” in any Maths textbook
As long as people are using the same convention, they’ll agree on an answer and that answer is correct
Unless they disobeyed the rules, in which case they are all wrong 🙄
You can be mean all you like, that doesn’t change the nature of conventions
And you can be as ignorant of the rules and conventions of Maths as much as you want, and it’s not going to change that your answer is wrong 🙄
The one response you got was just like, “But there’s just ONE rule.” totally missing your point.
The annoying prevalence of this meme suggests to me that an alarming number of people lack even a middle-school understanding of basic arithmetic.
Wait until you hear what the average reading level is.
It’s not arithmetic at all, it’s just about convention aka how to communicate math. The author didn’t make themselves clear enough so people misunderstand what calculation they mean.
In mathematics and computer programming, the order of operations is a collection of conventions about which arithmetic operations to perform first in order to evaluate a given mathematical expression.
The order of operations is part of arithmetic. Although, the memes about it are certainly not good mathematics communication.
There’s a useful distinction to be made. The order of operations is different between conventional written maths, calculators, reverse polish notation, python, etc. In contrast there is no disagreement over what the result of any individual binary operations is
The order of operations is different between conventional written maths, calculators, reverse polish notation, python, etc.
The notation might be different, but the rules are universal
The rules are about how you interpret the notation, so that makes no sense.
The rules are about how you interpret the notation
No, the notation definitions are about how to interpret the notation. The rules are about how to do the Maths.
So if you have one “notation definition” as you call it which says that 2+2*3 means ”first add two to two, then multiply by three" and another which says “first multiply two by three, then add it to two”, why on earth do the “rules” have anything further to say about order of operations?
it’s just about convention aka how to communicate math
They’re rules actually.
The author didn’t make themselves clear enough
Yes they did, someone screwed up the answers, just like in this book…

misunderstand what calculation they mean
There’s only 1 possible answer to it.
Sorry but there is no math government that can enforce rules, and the order of operations isn’t intrinsic either. It is just something people agreed upon volununtarily, aka a convention
Sorry but there is no math government that can enforce rules
Maths textbooks do. Try looking in some
the order of operations isn’t intrinsic either
Yes they are! 😂
It is just something people agreed upon volununtarily, aka a convention
Nope. Literally proven rules
My dude sit in a university lecture for math majors.
Your school books arent gospel
Just so you know, there is no point trying to convince this guy of anything. I explained why here
I explained why here
And you were proven wrong elsewhere (since you ran your rubbish to the maximum comment depth), but admitted to not reading it, speaking of proving you were the bad faith one all along 🙄

So, now that I’ve found a place I can reply to your other non-repliable posts…
Even if you corner them on something
Which no-one ever has 🙄
they absolutely will not budge
See how many Mathematicians and Maths teachers you can gaslight into believing that they and Maths textbooks are all wrong, I’ll wait.
I like many others brought up calculators and how common basic calculators only evaluate from left to right
And you hilariously provided a manual that proved you were wrong about that! 😂

He asserted (without evidence) that the first does not operate in this way
It’s right there in the manual, as I pointed out 😂
even though the manual says that you must re-order some expressions so that bracketed sub-expressions come first
That’s right, because it doesn’t have brackets keys 🙄 So you have to enter that first, then press the equals key to make it evaluate that first, because it doesn’t evaluate from left to right otherwise, it will do the multiplication first 🙄
still will not admit that he was wrong about his claim
says person who still will not admit he was wrong about his claim that all basic calculators working that way, even though the manual proves there are some that don’t 😂
you will not convince him of anything no matter what the evidence is
Says person refusing to believe all evidence, including the calculator manual 😂
he fundamentally cannot separate mathematics from the notation
Nope liar. I’m the one who keeps pointing out they are different 🙄 Go ahead and find a screenshot of me saying they’re the same, I’ll wait
He calls a×b multiplication and ab a product.
As per Maths textbooks, which you keep ignoring 🙄
These are, of course, the exact same thing
says person who not only can’t give a single textbook which says that, but refused to answer my question about
For a=2, b=3
1/ab=1/(2x3)=1/6
1/axb=1/2x3=3/2
which of those, according to you, is the correct answer, given you insist they are “the same thing” 🙄
implicit multiplication
There’s no such thing. Go ahead and find a Maths textbook that says so, I’ll wait
ab can, by some conventions, have a higher precedence than does the explicit multiplication in a×b
Literally always does, as per the rules of Maths, as found in Maths textbooks 🙄
he has taken that to mean that they are fundamentally different
So go ahead and explain how “the same thing”, according to you, can give different answers in all textbooks. I’ll wait
He thinks that a(b+c)=ab+bc is something to do with notation
The Distributive Law actually, another rule of Maths 🙄
not a fundamental relationship between multiplication and addition
There’s no multiplication in The Distributive Law, only in The Distributive Property 🙄
I will say that no author would distinguish those two terms
Except, of course, for all the ones who do 😂
because they’re just too easily confused
says person confused about the difference between a Law and a Property 😂
And many authors explicitly say that one is also known as the other
says person who can’t even cite a single example of such
He says that a×(b+c) = ab + bc is an instance of the “distributive property”
ax(b+c)=axb+axc actually.
You seem to think notation is only correct at exactly the level you claim to teach
Nope, every level after Primary school
Elementary school children get taught parentheses means you do stuff inside parentheses first
Because they haven’t been taught The Distributive Law yet, and there is no outside brackets for them - they don’t learn that until Year 7
college calculus students get taught parentheses mean you do stuff inside parenthesis first
No they don’t.
despite two centuries of textbooks showing that is in fact how parentheses work
You’re the one ignoring the 2 centuries of textbooks dude 😂
All published textbooks and all pragmatic mathematics operate as though your pet peeve does not exist
says person who can’t cite a single such example, again 🙄
It’s almost like the shit you insist upon is completely made-up, and does not matter to anyone besides you
says person who actually made up that Multiplication and Products are the same thing 🙄
I thought they were called “products” not “multiplications”
That’s right. You know you’re referring to a 1912 textbook, right? Terminology has moved on since then, as demonstrated by the 1965 textbook 😂
I’m just trying to give you more opportunities to prove that you’re not just a troll
says person who ignored all the textbooks I posted, whilst not citing any themselves 🙄
You insist you’re talking about mathematical rules that cannot be violated, so it should be no problem to find an explicit mention of them
I provided many, which you ignored 🙄
you are saying that the practice of calculators, mathematical tools, programming languages and mathematical software are all wrong
Nope, liar. All my calculators give correct answers (Sharp, Casio, Omron - only Texas Instruments breaks the mold these days), and programmers disobeying the rules of Maths doesn’t prove they not rules of Maths. 🙄 You are the one claiming that Sharp and Casio calculators are giving wrong answers. 🙄 I’m guessing that your calculator, if you even have one (which seems doubtful from what I’ve seen) is a Texas Instruments one.
that you are right
My caclulators and textbooks are correct, yes. 🙄
that my interpretation of your own textbooks is wrong
says person who read one sentence and stopped there and did some mental gymnastics with it, ignoring that the whole rest of the book contradicts that interpretation 🙄
if you show no ability to admit error
says the person who actually made errors.
admit that disagreement from competing authorities
There isn’t any “disagreement from competing authorities”. 😂 Every single textbook, not just Maths, but Physics, Chemistry, Engineering, etc., obeys the exact same rules 😂
As my own show of good faith, I
didn’t look at any of the examples about Distribution and Terms, speaking of proving you are the bad faith person 🙄
I’ll explain why I think this is a bad convention
and you would be wrong, just like you are about everything else
why the formal first-order language of arithmetic doesn’t have this convention
No-one cares why a niche topic, only taught at University, is different to the general rules taught to everyone at high school 🙄
the distributive law is something you must do instead of a property of multiplication that you can use to aid in the manipulation of algebraic expressions but don’t have to
That’s right, as per Maths textbooks
Folded into their inability to understand that some aspects of maths are custom and convention
Says person who has an inability to tell the difference between a convention and the rules 🙄
Somewhere along the way he seems to think that distributivity is something to do with brackets instead of something to do with addition and multiplication
Law Vs. Property, not complicated!
if I can get him to actually cop to any of his verifiable mistakes
Of which there are none as opposed to you who has several verifiable mistakes 🙄
back up any of his whackadoodle claims with direct references
You’ve been given them, and you ignored them
Tomorrow I’m expecting another wall of text responding to every single word except the ones where I ask for such an admission
says person who has still failed to show anywhere that I was mistaken 🙄 On the other hand you have refused to admit to your mistakes
I’ll have satisfied myself he’s a lost cause
Actually, you admitted to not even reading it - that’s something which people who know they are wrong do 🙄
been pushing his wrong ideas of what the distributive law are, since 2023
says person again ignoring the Maths textbooks 🙄
Notice how the text never says “you MUST use the distributive law”?
I notice how you have comprehension and/or honesty issues

It always says some variation of “in order to simplify, you must…”?
Which part of the word “must” don’t you understand? 😂 Also, which part of simplifying Brackets is part of the order of operations don’t you understand? 😂
No, you don’t notice, because you’re blind
cough cough 😂 Here’s another one, in case you’re still in any doubt…

don’t understand what distributivity actually is.
says the person who actually doesn’t understand what The Distributive Law is
You also got me confused with someone else trying to explain in short words how you’re wrong
Nope. Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee say very similar things, but one can still tell them apart.
bye
Don’t let the door hit you on the way out! 😂
Yikes
My dude sit in a university lecture for math majors
You know I have a Masters in Maths, right? 🤣
Your school books arent gospel
Proofs are, and these things are very easy to prove 🙄
You have a masters but you can’t differentiate between notation and the concept it is trying to convey
My dude sit in a university lecture for math majors
You know I have a Masters in Maths, right? 🤣
Your school books arent gospel
Proofs are, and these things are very easy to prove 🙄
Let’s just agree to disagree, then. /s
deleted by creator
But if enough people are doing it wrong, that means it’s common usage, and therefore it’s right!
-The English Language
Which is perfectly fine for languages:)
SADMEP
I love this so much because on the ballot, the right answer is also often missing
Okay, buddy elementary school
Is that a good elementary school?
In america, math IS a democracy, and this is why we are losing our democracy.
So that’s where the slogan “stop the count” comes from
Technically it can be, since PEMDAS is not an immutable law, it’s convention so we can communicate maths and come to the same answer.
BEDMAS is just as immutable as the idea that those symbols represent numbers and operations. All math is based on conventions; you can’t just decide that some are more important than others.
It’s a convention just as letters and digits are. If you communicate with people, you better follow the convention they are used to or make it explicit when you don’t. That is when your goal is to be understood of cause. Otherwise dkfurveekfifrhrvaakdjf I guess
Solve for x
Here you go. By the commutative property of multiplication:
2 + 2x4 = 2 + 24x
Rearranging this leads to:
x = -1/12
which means that x is the limit of the diverging series:
x = 1 + 2 + 3 + …
Wouldnt 2x4 actually equate to 2 * 4 * x not 24 * x? So it would be 8x?
Regular multiplication? Sure. But this is Rustydrd multiplication, which assigns different values to products I don’t like.
x=4/7
Fourg







