Quote:
Originally Posted by Ibram
Quote:
But many calculators and textbooks state that a higher value of precedence should be placed on implied multiplication than on explicit multiplication
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Bullshit. Any cites of these calculators and textbooks? I've never heard this.
The root of all this is ambiguous use of the "/" in a single-line context, where properly-typeset multi-line usage would result in either
or
Any sensible reinterpretation of one of these into a single line would include appropriate parentheses or other clarification to make it clear how the calculation is carried out. As noted earlier, the entire point of the 48-whatever example is to start an argument.
In fact, I dare say that incorrect interpretation of the fraction bar by bogus separation of terms in numerators and denominators, for example
Code:
x + 5 x
------- = --- + 5
2 2
is a very common student error, and contributes to the misinterpretation of typographical disasters such as we're discussing.