Post #4366669
2026-07-31 00:47 UTC
@SmartmanApps@dotnet.social
This particular one’s unambiguous, but there’s at least one of these meme problems that has something annoying like “6➗2x” in it.
This is only unambiguous if you insist that this must be read as an *ordered sequence* of operations:
“six divided by two, then multiplied by x”
And that it must never be interpreted as a *grouped set* of operations, like the very similar-looking
6
—
2x
which is unambiguously “six divided by the result of multiplying x by two” (i.e. not the same as the ordered sequence), and also how most of us write division after about 8th grade.
This is also why, past a certain point, *nobody writes expressions like these the first way*, outside of silly meme problems. In particular, you almost never want “2x” to accidentally become 2/x or x/2, but that’s what happens in 4th grade order-of-operations meme problems if you’re not careful.
Replies (1)
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@SmartmanApps@dotnet.social 2026-08-03 09:59
@dpnash@c.im "something annoying like “6➗️2x” in it" - which is ALSO unambiguous https://dotnet.social/@SmartmanApps/110846452267056791 ab=(axb) BY DEFINITION "*ordered sequence* of operations" - there's only one operator - there IS only one order in which you can do it! "which is unambiguously “six divided by the result of multiplying x by two”" - as is the original expression you wrote "not the same as the ordered sequence" - yes it is "nobody writes expressions like these the first way" - I do, as does everyone else here