RE: Math problem that is driving the Internet crazy
August 9, 2019 at 5:48 pm
(This post was last modified: August 9, 2019 at 5:49 pm by A Toy Windmill.)
This isn't a "maths problem". It's a "maths communication problem". And in this case, the communication spins on very shallow conventions.
There wouldn't be a big issue if we decided to change the convention tomorrow and say that division now takes priority over multiplication. Changing that convention doesn't change division. It doesn't change multiplication. It doesn't change arithmetic. It doesn't change the mathematics at all. This isn't a matter of mathematics.
Who cares about the conventions we use to denote the original calculation? We might as well be arguing over whether the Earth is 93 million miles from the sun or whether it's actually 150 million kilometers from the sun.
There wouldn't be a big issue if we decided to change the convention tomorrow and say that division now takes priority over multiplication. Changing that convention doesn't change division. It doesn't change multiplication. It doesn't change arithmetic. It doesn't change the mathematics at all. This isn't a matter of mathematics.
Who cares about the conventions we use to denote the original calculation? We might as well be arguing over whether the Earth is 93 million miles from the sun or whether it's actually 150 million kilometers from the sun.
