• That’s a very simplistic view of maths

    The Distributive Law and Arithmetic is very simple.

    It’s convention

    Nope, a literal Law. See screenshot

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_operations

    Isn’t a Maths textbook, and has many mistakes in it

    Just because a definition of an operator contains another operator, does not require that operator to take precedence

    Yes it does 😂

    2+3x4=2+3+3+3+3=14 by definition of Multiplication

    2+3x4=5x4=20 Oops! WRONG ANSWER 😂

    As you pointed out, 2+34 could just as well be calculated to 54 and thus 20

    No, I pointed out that it can’t be calculated like that, you get a wrong answer, and you get a wrong answer because 3x4=3+3+3+3 by definition

    There’s no mathematical contradiction there

    Just a wrong answer and a right one. If I have 1 2 litre bottle of milk, and 4 3 litre bottles of milk, even young kids know how to count up how many litres I have. Go ahead and ask them what the correct answer is 🙄

    Nothing broke

    You got a wrong answer when you broke the rules of Maths. Spoiler alert: I don’t have 20 litres of milk

    You just get a different answer

    A provably wrong answer 😂

    This is all perfectly in line with how maths work

    2+3x4=20 is not in line with how Maths works. 2+3+3+3+3 does not equal 20 😂

    add(2, mult(3, 4)), for typical

    rule

    But it could just as well be mult(add(2, 3), 4), where addition takes precedence

    And it gives you a wrong answer 🙄 I still don’t have 20 litres of milk

    And I hope you see how, in here, everything seems to work just fine

    No, I see quite clearly that I have 14 litres of milk, not 20 litres of milk. Even a young kid can count up and tell you that

    it just depends on how you rearrange things

    Correctly or not

    our operators is just convention

    The notation is, the rules aren’t

    Something in between would be requiring parentheses around every operator, to enforce order

    No it wouldn’t. You know we’ve only been using brackets in Maths for 300 years, right? Order of operations is much older than that

    Such as (2+(3*4))

    Which is exactly how they did it before we started using Brackets in Maths 😂 2+3x4=2+3+3+3+3=14, not complicated.

    • SkyeStarfall@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      2 months ago

      I mean, it is pretty clear here that you do not really understand the purpose of notation, nor what maths is. Notation is just a constructed language to convey a mathematical idea, it’s malleable

      And yeah, it’s easy to just say “this page is wrong!” without any further argument. Nothing you referenced proved the convention as law, and neither is there any mathematical basis for any proof, because it simply is nonsensical to “prove” a notation. Have another source for this being convention https://www.themathdoctors.org/order-of-operations-why/ or https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/884765/mathematical-proof-for-order-of-operations. If you want a book about this, then there’s https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronshtein_and_Semendyayev that is cited by wikipedia. I’m sure you could also find stuff about this in a set theory book. Though good luck understanding them without sufficient experience in high-level maths

      Really though, maths is so much more than “3+5=8 because that’s the correct answer!” But why is it the correct answer? In what context? What is the definition of addition? How can you prove that 1+1=2 from fundamental axioms? This is harder to answer than you might think.

      • I mean, it is pretty clear here that you do not really understand the purpose of notation,

        says person who doesn’t understand that there is only one possible answer to 2+3x4. Even kids who are still counting up know what it is

        Notation is just a constructed language to convey a mathematical idea, it’s malleable

        Yep, and the rules aren’t. 2+3x4 can only ever equal 14. In Germany it’s written 2+3.4, and it’s still equal to 14, because the rules are universal

        Nothing you referenced proved the convention as law

        says person ignoring the textbook screenshots explaining why it’s a Law 🙄

        neither is there any mathematical basis for any proof

        Yes there is. See textbook screenshots 🙄

        it simply is nonsensical to “prove” a notation

        It proves the rules 🙄

        Have another source for this being convention https://www.themathdoctors.org/order-of-operations-why/

        Read the comments and you’ll find multiple people telling him he is wrong, with references 😂 His usual comeback is “well, that doesn’t prove that it’s taught everywhere”, yeah only that they ALL say the same thing! 😂 And he even admitted at one point he couldn’t find his rule in any Maths textbooks. 😂 I even tried to tell him myself, and he deleted my comment because I proved he was wrong 😂

        or https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/884765/mathematical-proof-for-order-of-operations.

        Is well-known to be overridden with people who do not know how to do order of operations 😂 On Mastodon I’ve seen people asking where is a better place to take Maths problems

        If you want a book about this

        I have plenty of Maths textbooks, which for some reason you refuse to look in

        there’s https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronshtein_and_Semendyayev that is cited by wikipedia.

        “comprehensive handbook” - so, yet again, not a Maths textbook 🙄

        “first published in 1945 in Russia” - the order of operations rules are older than 1945 😂

        “frequently used guide for scientists, engineers, and technical university students” - notably no mention of Mathematicians

        I’m sure you could also find stuff about this in a set theory book

        and you could find this in a high school Maths textbook

        Though good luck understanding them without sufficient experience in high-level maths

        You know teachers here are required to have a Masters in Maths right?? 😂

        But why is it the correct answer?

        Count up and find out, or use some Cuisenaire rods. This is how young kids learn to do it

        In what context?

        The context of Addition 🙄

        What is the definition of addition?

        1+1=2, then inductively proven for all subsequent numbers

        How can you prove that 1+1=2 from fundamental axioms?

        It’s true by definition

        This is harder to answer than you might think

        Not hard at all. 1+1=2 by definition, then the rest of the numbers are proven inductively. You know there are several species of animals that also know how to count, right?