Post #4328567
2026-08-02 10:54 UTC
Replies (1)
-
@bemmesr@mathstodon.xyz 2026-08-02 11:17
@SmartmanApps@dotnet.social alright ‘smartman’, if there is only one standard for order of operations then why is it that when I put ‘3÷2(6)’ into my #Casio fx-100AU PLUS the answer is ‘0.25’, but when I put the same exact string into my Google Pixel's calculator app the answer is ‘9’? I suppose you'd say my #android is wrong, right? Maybe so, but then you can't deny that the confusion is pervasive. If 72.77% (https://www.sci-tech-today.com/stats/android-phones-statistics/) of mobile phones will tell you the wrong answer in their default app, are we simply to ignore it? Well, again, maybe so. That's the way you would have it, isn't it? If they're wrong they're not worth listening to. But when I write a mathematical expression, I want it to be that no matter who copies it down into whatever calculator, that they all get the same result. To me that would be ideal. And to achieve that, I will use as many brackets as necessary (or I will simply use fraction notation if I can). As for brackets being new, this isn't really an argument. We would expect the language of mathematics to become more standardised, and less ambiguous, over time. In the early days of mathematics we didn't even have standard symbols for any of the arithmetic operators. To begin with, mathematics was the privilege of the educated few, and now days it is a common tool for the common person. With that comes a requirement for intuitive clarity, not knowledge of some standard order of operations (which again, a majority of mobile devices don't even adhere to).