A Call For Humor!

[Keith_W]

 

[IAtaman]

All this back and forth should provide enough cause to always use ( ) and [ ].
That's the internationally accepted method, leaving no room for cock-ups.
In UK, I have been to colleges and two universities. I would have had my ass kicked if I had resorted to omitting brackets.
I think this is a US thing! like inches and ounces, they still cling to, in 21st century.

This is indeed an ambiguity created by the everyday notation used. The order things are written does not always align with the precedence of operation, creating confusion and the need to use paranthesis. I think we should have stuck with reverse Polish notation. 2 4 x 2 +. Done.

 

[Waxx]

 

[Blumlein 88]

This is indeed an ambiguity created by the everyday notation used. The order things are written does not always align with the precedence of operation, creating confusion and the need to use paranthesis. I think we should have stuck with reverse Polish notation. 2 4 x 2 +. Done.

Oh, I tried, was introduced to it while young. I hate polish notation. Don't prefer something else, don't find it just less good, I hate it. Seems fine with the simple example I just find it horrible with longer equations when one used to work with paper, and slide rules. With calculators it might be better, but I found it far easier to make a mistake vs paranthesis. Yeah I had access to those early HP calculators with it, and didn't like those either. It never clicked with my brain somehow.

 

[IAtaman]

Oh, I tried, was introduced to it while young. I hate polish notation. Don't prefer something else, don't find it just less good, I hate it. Seems fine with the simple example I just find it horrible with longer equations when one used to work with paper, and slide rules. With calculators it might be better, but I found it far easier to make a mistake vs paranthesis. Yeah I had access to those early HP calculators with it, and didn't like those either. It never clicked with my brain somehow.

I feel the same way about the Polish notation. It confuses the hell out of me. Reverse Polish though somehow makes sense. Give the two numbers, and the operation. For everyday arithmetic, I think it would be fine if we got used to it growing up.

 

[Andrew s]

I feel the same way about the Polish notation. It confuses to hell out of me. Reverse Polish though somehow makes sense. Give the two numbers, and the operation. For everyday arithmetic, I think it would be fine if we got used to it growing up.

In the early days of small electronic calculators I used an RP calculator as no-one stole it as the didn't know how to use it. Regards Andrew

 

[DavidEdwinAston]

All this back and forth should provide enough cause to always use ( ) and [ ].
That's the internationally accepted method, leaving no room for cock-ups.
In UK, I have been to colleges and two universities. I would have had my ass kicked if I had resorted to omitting brackets.
I think this is a US thing! like inches and ounces, they still cling to, in 21st century.

I too am a fellow (Londoner) Ken. Thanks for your clarification.

 

[Nutul]

All this back and forth should provide enough cause to always use ( ) and [ ].
That's the internationally accepted method, leaving no room for cock-ups.

It's not an internationally accepted method, it is just done to leave any ambiguity out (ambiguity you shouldn't see if you just knew the rules).
Maths state that multiplication / division have higher priority than addition / subtraction, hence you first resolve multiplication, and THEN addition.
If you prefer you could surround multiplication and division with brackets in your mind, but then again, it's just to avoid confusion. To be confused is fine, to not know the rules, OTOH, is not.
I have been taught this easy rule when I was 7 or 8 y.o. and that was easily more than 45 years ago. In Europe. Still remember it. Never fails.

Just my 2c.

 

[digitalfrost]

 

[Pegwill]

 

[theREALdotnet]

View attachment 338651

This may well be a deliberate design choice, if a cheeky one. Assuming the fly spray is based on pyrethrin, the canola oil is probably the bigger killer.

 

[Ken Tajalli]

It's not an internationally accepted method, it is just done to leave any ambiguity out (ambiguity you shouldn't see if you just knew the rules).
Maths state that multiplication / division have higher priority than addition / subtraction, hence you first resolve multiplication, and THEN addition.
If you prefer you could surround multiplication and division with brackets in your mind, but then again, it's just to avoid confusion. To be confused is fine, to not know the rules, OTOH, is not.
I have been taught this easy rule when I was 7 or 8 y.o. and that was easily more than 45 years ago. In Europe. Still remember it. Never fails.

Just my 2c.

You probably have been taught inches and ounces too, do we still use those?
Oh Scratch that, you still do!!
Well we don't accept that here in UK!
What does that say about your rules and internationality and all that jazz?
Do we have to crash another spacecraft on Mars??

 

[pkane]

You probably have been taught inches and ounces too, do we still use those?
Oh Scratch that, you still do!!
Well we don't accept that here in UK!
What does that say about your rules and internationality and all that jazz?
Do we have to crash another spacecraft on Mars??

Having been taught in Europe and then in the US, I grew up on metric and then had to convert to (ahem) British Imperial system. I can certainly vouch for how ridiculous that latter one really is in comparison.

But mathematical convention of operation precedence is a necessity in any complex mathematical treatment. Just imagine how complex and unreadable the following simple and elegant equation would be if you had to add parenthesis around every single operator:

 

[Ken Tajalli]

What can I say, I like parentheses!

(o )( o)

 

[Deleted member 21114]

Just imagine how complex and unreadable the following simple and elegant equation would be if you had to add parenthesis around every single operator:

 

[DavidEdwinAston]

It's not an internationally accepted method, it is just done to leave any ambiguity out (ambiguity you shouldn't see if you just knew the rules).
Maths state that multiplication / division have higher priority than addition / subtraction, hence you first resolve multiplication, and THEN addition.
If you prefer you could surround multiplication and division with brackets in your mind, but then again, it's just to avoid confusion. To be confused is fine, to not know the rules, OTOH, is not.
I have been taught this easy rule when I was 7 or 8 y.o. and that was easily more than 45 years ago. In Europe. Still remember it. Never fails.

Just my 2c.

Whadya mean "math state"? Nutty. If I was taught that in my basic UK 1950's education, Ive forgotten it.
Bracketing now, surely we all get that.

 

[digitalfrost]

https://imgur.com/SCbIFml

 

[Neddy]

https://imgur.com/SCbIFml

ROLF!

 

[chuckt62]

over my head.gif

 

[Nutul]

Whadya mean "math state"? Nutty. If I was taught that in my basic UK 1950's education, Ive forgotten it.
Bracketing now, surely we all get that.

state is the verb here.
surely you have forgotten then ;-) after all, don't calculators solve it that way, without any brackets...?
I find it very sad that people don't know this; moreover bringing it to the same level as metric vs imperial is totally a joke... but since we are on the funniest thread, maybe it's just me taking it too seriously... I do love mathematics, and its elegance. And its rules!