1y ago

Glitch in the matrix

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574 comments

The correct answer is 16. Multiplication and Division happen at the same level of priority, and are evaluated left-to-right.
- No it's ambiguous, you claiming there is one right answer is actually wrong.
  
  It is not ambiguous at all, there absolutely is one right answer, and it is 16.
  
  You're taking something you learned when you were like 9 years old and assuming it's correct in every situation forever.
  Unfortunately this isn't the case and you're incorrect.
  
  Inaccurate, this has nothing to do with the mnemonic PEMDAS, this has to do with the actual order of operations it tries to instill. That order of operations is not ambiguous, there is a correct way to solve simple equations like the one above, and there is one and only one correct answer to it. That answer is 16.
  
  And in the "actual" order of operations, if we want to pretend one exists, 2( binds more tightly than ÷
  if you're going via prescriptivism, then you're wrong, because there are plenty of authoritative sources following the left hand model
  if you're going via descriptivism, then you're wrong, because this thread exists
  
  No, 2( does not bind more tightly than ÷. 2( is simply 2×(..., and ÷ and × occur at the same level of priority. After resolving the addition in the parentheses, the remaining operations are resolved left to right.
  
  if you're going via prescriptivism, then you're wrong, because there are plenty of authoritative sources following the left hand model
  if you're going via descriptivism, then you're wrong, because this thread exists
  
  No, the fact that a good many people are incorrect about how math works does not entail that math is an open question. It's not, math has actual rules to its equations and an unambiguous right answer. In this case, that answer is 16.
  
  math has actual rules to its equations and an unambiguous right answer
  you know you could've just started this by admitting you've never touched the subject at a higher level than high school and saved us all this bother
  
  I'm well familiar with math and the rules by which it works. Those who persist in arguing the case here could save the rest of us the bother by admitting they were stumped by a simple gotcha equation and are embarrassed, rather than wasting everyone's time by insisting that math is nothing but a lawless, rules-free wasteland where the answer to an equation depends on your feelings at the time.
  
  2( is simply 2×(
  No it isn't. 2(a+b)=(2a+2b) The Distributive Law
  
  But there actually is only 1 right answer, and unfortunately for the person you're replying to it's 1.
- PEMDAS be damned?
  
  PEMDAS should be read as Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication and Division, Addition and Subtraction. There are four levels of priority, not six.

574 comments