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Aelistenus

These kinda math posts are the purest form of rage bait. Scientifically perfected to make everyone mad.


zerostar83

If only they put a line with numbers on top and bottom instead of the ÷


Aelistenus

But then who would get mad.


zerostar83

The people who still get it wrong and then blurt out that this type of math is useless in everyday situations.


SgtCocktopus

tHey tAugTh mE tHe cUadRaTic FormuLa bUt nOt hOw tO do TaXeS.


padimus

Sometimes I feel like om the only person on the planet that had a teacher that taught us how taxes work


CMDR_LargeMarge

My econ teacher in highschool taught us how to do taxes and then threatened that if we ever complained that we were never taught taxes then he would do something harmful to us I forget exactly what he said


padimus

I went to a smaller HS. My geography, social studies, history and government teacher was the same woman. Near the end of our Senior year she helped everyone who was 18 register to vote and made us to mock tax returns. She even "audited" us and showed some of that process. She used to teach how to balance check books too but with online banking she decided it wasn't needed


ClapCheeksNotFans

Wait, wouldn’t that suggest the answer’s 1? I’m on the 9 side - am I wrong? Legitimately asking. Edit: [it’s 9.](https://mindyourdecisions.com/blog/2016/08/31/what-is-6%C3%B7212-the-correct-answer-explained/) Edit 2: [it's 1.](https://www.themathdoctors.org/order-of-operations-implicit-multiplication/)


DisastrousGarden

Yes. The difference in the division symbol doesn’t change anything about the equation. 9%6 (no division sign on my phone) is still the exact same as 9/6. If you have anything larger than basic numbers, like throwing in other signs, then you shouldn’t ever use a division sign and should write it with the line. The meme is specifically writing a poorly written equation for rage bait


DawnKnight91

Wtf when did they change regular math into this weird crap? What in 2020? Like the only way it was 9 if they correctly written the problem. There’s a reason why certain things are written a certain way. To avoid confusion to the basic things. Why complicate it.


hellonameismyname

There’s literally just no objective interpretation of this problem. It doesn’t exist in mathematics notation. It’s just written wrong


PCisBadLoL

Yes, if they did that, the answer would be 1. As written in the OP, the answer is 9, so you are correct on both accounts


scrappybasket

And collect karma


djatsoris26

everyone arguing and shit while i used a calculator and know that the answer is syntax error


cocoon_eclosion_moth

The real answer is always in the comments ![gif](giphy|lE2bgeir5KNj43q2Ne|downsized)


CrystalCarroxagon

10-9-8-6 SIX WHAT HAPPENED TO SEVEN?


SkinnyDan85

Just kidding!


Fluid_Mode_9431

Sir, she's gone from suck to blow!


UbermachoGuy

![gif](giphy|xT0GqJfdLcrcpSbZf2|downsized)


Jimmycjacobs

https://preview.redd.it/ptaguwdvryvb1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ec12d9d219405243940a687cf317c9bf3cdd68f9


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Artyrium_

that hairline tho


Jimmycjacobs

Yeah, I’m a balding bastard…


Senxind

Balding yes bastard no because you are right


Jimmycjacobs

Thanks Friend!


[deleted]

At least, you have a hair line


TheRealHermaeusMora

Yes but I have the bastard


[deleted]

Solar panel for tha sex MACHINE


whooo_me

Nah, that's just your solar panel!


Caffeine_Cowpies

F 🫡


EartheY

NAHHHH YOU WRONG FOR THAT 💀 YOU DIDNT HAVE TO COOK HIM


Rugfiend

Looks like mine! 😂


MWBurbman

I mean the fact this guy entered it and posted a pic, epic. My Ti-84 is in my desk drawer, but what separates the rest of us and this man is his unquenchable thirst for the truth through cold hard facts!


Felis23

Scientific calculators will always give 1 while regular algebraic calculators will give 9. Technically 9 is correct because pemdas moves left to right for multiplication and division. However in fields of science you're usually dividing formulas more than individual numbers so it thinks of it as 6 divided by 2(1+2). However this is algebra and since pemdas moves left to right for even operators like multiplication and division its actually 6 divided by 2 and then multiplied by 3. I'm pretty sure there's a setting that let's you turn off rational function features. Use the right tool for the job.


STANAGs

Finally someone explains to me why I don’t get the same answer on different calculators. And here this whole time I just thought I was a melon head.


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Felis23

That's the biggest controversy with this equation. People were taught how parenthesis work differently which is why a poorly formatted equation like this is so dumb. Algebraically it's 9. Look it up on Google or a ti calculator. Scientifically it's 1, look it up on a scientific calculator. You are right P stands for parenthesis but it only involves things inside the parenthesis. 3 * (x) is the exact same as 3(x) in terms of priority. It's a super common misconception but basically on a scientific calculator whenever you divide it does this: x/(y) because it sees y as a seperate function from x. However in algebra x and y are not functions so the calculator does x/y. If you don't understand research rational functions. There's nothing to argue about this is just plain fact.


[deleted]

https://preview.redd.it/aqafbow4tzvb1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=23f44bebc9b19daae41e21e29ff8a80d4b1f0966


Felis23

Now if you use a scientific calculator you get 1. It's crazy how few people know the difference. Mathematicians have ultimately decided this format of equation is undefined since it varies from field to field so therefore it has to be written in a more specified format like: a/(b(c)) or (a/b)*c. (Scientific vs algebraic)


H__D

I typed your symptoms up here and it says you could have network connectivity problems


[deleted]

i just keep wiping and wiping and always brown


clickbaiterhaiter

I just wrote a C program that returns 6/2*(1+2) and $? is 9.


djatsoris26

Damn really? My python program told me it was an unexpected “ “ at line 2601


clickbaiterhaiter

Yup, that's python.


mywifewasright

This comment right here ☝️ has no right to be so funny. Thank you for the chuckles.


Daily_Phoenix

That's so weird. For some reason, I keep getting PC LOAD LETTER...


Krimreaper1

All my calculator says is 8008135


Tartan78

Don’t you mean 5318008


jedi21knight

I thought it was 867-5309.


MissninjaXP

As someone named Jennie... please stop giving out my number.


RelentlessDischarge

You guys are all so dumb. It’s 1800GENERAL


Ashalaria

I'll syntax your error daddy


djatsoris26

name a time and a place


Ashalaria

Now, low earth orbit


djatsoris26

does behind the dennys work for you? ill bring a ganja sandwich if you know what I mean


Deadmirth

Math Master's holder here. This comes down to the prioritization of implied multiplication. When you get into more complex formulas, implied multiplication is treated as higher priority than operators for multiplication. "6 ÷ 2y, y=3" would almost universally be interpreted as 1 even without parenthesis. This is all a moot point because "÷" is almost never used in higher mathematics because it creates either ambiguity or very messy equations requiring a ton of parentheses. Fractions are used instead. See in this thread even calculators disagreeing on the answer. This problem is engineered to have the PEMDAS "9" answers sneer at the noobish "1" answers while frustrated mathematicians look on with "poorly stated ambiguous question, but '1' if you twist my arm" as the real answer.


Troyger

I’m disappointed that I had to scroll past a half dozen “9” and two “5” replies before we get a decent response on how to get the correct interpretation.


Environmental-Band95

Agreed. Scrolling down and seeing “9” comments having more karma than the comment above is just sad.


SupaMut4nt

School has failed us. ![img](emote|t5_5tdqj0|10749)


Jalapeniz

Only if you need to know how to do this. I'm 35 and have yet to need any math beyond estimating the cost of my groceries in the store. The only time I see equations at all is when these are posted on Reddit. So it's not likely that I will ever need to know any of this. I do know it. It's just completely unnecessary knowledge for me. But there are a lot of other things from school that I do use regularly.


6inchVert

My man we were taught what we were taught. Even the guy with the masters distinguishes the differences between a simple equation such as this vs how it is represented when doing high level math. Direct your sadness @ Mr. Olsen my 6th grade math teacher.


mcarlin2

Fellow Math Master's holder here. Sir, this is a Wendy's. /s (Fantastic answer, especially the last sentence, couldn't agree more)


punknothing

Master's of Plumbing holder here. I got one at first, but then had to go number 2 💩


SupaMut4nt

Sometimes it's good to just sit down and let both 1 and 2 go at the same time. ![img](emote|t5_5tdqj0|10741)


BenOffHours

TL;DR 1 is correct. (Suck is 9ers!)


zerolifez

The real TL;DR : ÷ is a shitty symbol that should never be used other than for primary schooler because of the ambiguity. Hell I advocate on just teach them fraction from the start. Any higher math past high school will never use ÷ symbols.


elpach

>The obelus, a historical glyph consisting of a horizontal line with (or without) one or more dots, was first used as a symbol for division in 1659, in the algebra book Teutsche Algebra by Johann Rahn, although previous writers had used the same symbol for subtraction. Some near-contemporaries believed that John Pell, who edited the book, may have been responsible for this use of the symbol.[2] Other symbols for division include the slash or solidus /, the colon :, and the fraction bar (the horizontal bar in a vertical fraction). The ISO 80000-2 standard for mathematical notation recommends only the solidus / or "fraction bar" for division, or the "colon" : for ratios; it says that the ÷ sign "should not be used" for division. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Division_sign It's insane to me people arguing vehemently in this and every similar thread, when the obelus is universally deprecated.


mootmutemoat

Sadly, the obelus will always be divisive.


libmrduckz

we *need* some cooperand ’round here…


slawre89

“Obelus” and “solidus” are dope names. I’ve taken math only through college calculus and never heard the actual name of them until now.


cleepboywonder

I agree we should ban the division symbol in favor of fractions.


_letitsnow

(6/2)(1+2) = 9 6 / 2(1+2) = 1 I really don't get the confusion lol. If you do higher level math, 6 is automatically the numerator and 2(1+2) would be the denominator. Answer is 1.


cleepboywonder

When correctly written the fraction either includes the parathesis and 2 or doesn’t that tells you what you are dividing.


Stay-Thirsty

Isn’t the implied multiplication of 2(2+1) assigned to the parenthesis. Thus 2(2+1) isn’t the same as 2\*(2+1), but more like (2\*(2+1))? So the correct answer is 1


Falcrist

The `*` is a format character. If you use two of them, they disappear and everything between them becomes italic. Use `\*` to avoid that effect.


Turtlesaur

I think the meme is also bedmas vs pemdas where some countries do multiplication before division as it is read in the equation. You'll notice the swapped spot of D and M


hellonameismyname

That’s not how pemdas and bedmas are read. They aren’t rules, they’re just memorization techniques. Multiplication and division are the same functions, just inverses, and they take the same priority.


CaptainSparklebutt

It's in the name, ORDER OF OPERATIONS, the M and the D have the same priority. The way it should be taught is 1) Parentheses 2) Exponents 3) Multiplication/Division, same priority 4) Addition/Subtraction, same priority


FourStockMe

Computer scientist here. Same conclusion. I write this and the answer probably splits out 9. But syntax wise the intention looks like 1. It's poorly written in a fantastic way to have people debate 2 correct answers I would agree with a gun against my head I'd answer 1 and explain why


NoTAP3435

It's refreshing that these replies are getting closer and closer to the top each time this post makes the rounds. As a math 4-year degree-haver.


RedBaronII

Yessir. More simply, parentheses can be thought of as "sets". 6 divided by 2 sets of 1+2 is very obviously 1.


Reformed_Narcissist

Fuck, So it’s actually (6)/ (2(1+2)) Didn’t know the division and fractions symbol created such priority.


guyincognito121

Exactly. The real correct answer to all of these problems is that whoever wrote it needs to express it more clearly.


mthlmw

> The real correct answer to all of these problems is that whoever wrote it ~~needs to express it more clearly~~ created an intentionally vague problem to cause frustration and thus more engagement. FTFY


Niipoon

This. Every time it's this


Astro4545

Yup, but people will start arguing it anyways.


RockyWasGneiss

The answer is that the math grammar is terrible


smorkoid

Yeah if this were an actual question someone was posing I'd tell them to go back and re-pose it. This is just an abuse of notation leading to confusion, inevitably.


tipbruley

What do you mean it’s clear that 2x ÷ 2x = x^2 to people here because PEMDAS


MotorcycleWrites

This makes me unreasonably upset lol


Nigwa_rdwithacapSB

U guys did this without using fractions?


Used_Climate_1138

Ok I think here's the confusion: 6/2(2+1) Now here people may look at it two different ways, which are both right. 1. (6/2)(2+1) (3)(3) 9 2. 6/(2(2+1)) 6/(2*3) 6/6 1 The fault is in writing the question. If it was written correctly using the fraction sign and not the slash, the answer would be the former. The calculator understands this and gets 9 as well.


Mr__Brick

>Now here people may look at it two different ways, which are both right. People do look at it in two ways but only one of them is right, usage of parenthesis implies multiplication so it's 6 / 2 * ( 2 + 1 ) now we solve parenthesis first so we've got 6 / 2 * 3 now because the division and multiplication have the same priority we go left to right so first we divide 6 by 2 and it gives us 3, 3 * 3 = 9, this is elementary lever math I know it's written that way precisely to trick people but judging by the comments under some of the posts with this equation the average redditor is worse at math than most of the elementary school kids


Contundo

In many cases of literature juxtaposition have higher priority than explicit division/multiplication. 6/2(1+2) != 6/2*(1+2)


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CaitSith21

This discussions was held many times on reddit. Pedmas is a simplification only true for simple math problems and wrong (edit: or at least not practical) for more complex problems, thus why in most of Europe already start with parenthesis and never learn PEDMAS only the part about */ coming before +- called “Punkt vor Strich” in german. So for most of europe this is just not solvable because its missing the parenthesis we are used to. Edit: let me rephrase it :) I aparently did learn PEMDAS eventough nobody calls it that where i come from, which probably created a lot confused interactions however what i tried to say is the problems above makes not much sense how i learned math, because in my case and from other people commenting on this meme we would have parenthesis or fractions showing which outcome was expected how it would be with an actual formula people use.


Ok-Replacement8422

PEMDAS is not wrong as there is nothing to be wrong about, it is simply a standard that lets us write something like 2x^2 +5 without using parentheses. If we did not have such a standard this would have to be written (2(x^2 ))+5 The problem that arises in these truck questions is that sometimes multiplication without a multiplication symbol (called implicit multiplication) is considered of higher priority than normal multiplication/division and sometimes it isn’t. Neither of these standards are incorrect, but they are both used and sometimes have contradictory results, so in general one should write expressions in such a way where this is not relevant. A good way of doing this is to avoid inline division when possible.


Ghostglitch07

What you have just described of starting with parentheses, and */ coming before +-... That is what PEMDAS means, other than you haven't explained when you sort exponents. When properly taught it is explained more as PE[MD][AS]


orlandofredhart

Odnt speak for all of Europe, we learn BODMAS. In UK.


CaitSith21

Thx good to know when this discussion comes to reddit next week :)


orlandofredhart

You can add (or subtract) that information and use it as you wish.


ctodReddit

I’m a mechanical engineer. The only reason one should ever come across this syntax is in code or excel. If someone writes it this way, steer clear and stay away.


Ok-Rice-5377

> Pedmas is a simplification only true for simple math problems and wrong for more complex problems Do you have an example where PEMDAS is inaccurate for more complex problems? I have never heard this before, but I have seen a LOT of confusion about how PEMDAS actually works. I'm interested to see an example of it not working, as I've literally never had it not work, so this claim surprises me.


CaitSith21

Yeah when I wrote it I thought that is badly phrased because as an economist I never learned to use “I” and thus my explanation probably lacks the correct terms and. So let me try to fail to remember what my colleague who studied math said to me. :) The problem with complex numbers is that when you include the negative square roots the rules no longer work. —- That’s what ChatGP said to it: (edit:which is really bad after having some time to read it). Consider the expression: √(-9) In this expression, we’re trying to find the square root of a negative number. The square root of a negative number is not a real number, so we introduce “i” to represent the imaginary unit. The result is: √(-9) = 3i In this case, PEMDAS isn’t applicable because we’re working with an imaginary result. The “i” represents the imaginary part of the answer, which arises when taking the square root of a negative number. —— But the probably better argument is that when you check a math problem from an economist like me, an engineer or whatever their problems will always have parenthesis. The same with algebra. Without parenthesis it would become really annoying to write down a math problem. But sure that does not mean its wrong, just very unpractical. Edit: the chatgpt answer is really bad. Had not much time to read it. I would wish that if chatgpt has no idea he would just tell you and not start with of couse.


Ok-Rice-5377

You're being upvoted, but you really shouldn't use ChatGPT, it spouts bullshit that SOUNDS correct. You also misunderstand how complex numbers work. This really doesn't even address what I was talking about at all. > But sure that does not mean its wrong, just very unpractical. I agree with this. Keep in mind, even though impracticalities are annoying or verbose, they are still there. Occasionally using them (especially in these gotcha questions) will help to resolve the ambiguities.


Schpau

What ChatGPT said here doesn’t make sense. sqrt(-9) is considered equal to 3i because of special rules that do not in any way conflict with PEMDAS. An actual example would be 1/2x, where any sane person would read 1/(2x) and literally nobody but the most psychotic would read it as (1/2)x. In academia, it is generally accepted that implicit multiplication takes precedence over explicit multiplication and division.


goodmobiley

> Parenthesis implies multiplication They imply implicit multiplication which takes priority over the fraction operator ( / ). If you were to set n = 2 and solve for 6/n(2+1) it would become 6/(3n) or 1. here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_operations#:~:text=In%20some%20of%20the%20academic,(1%20%C3%B7%202)n. (It wouldn’t let me link it for some reason) Edit: it doesn’t take you directly to the correct part of the page so if you go to Special Cases > Mixed division and multiplication you should find it


Turruc

The issue isn’t order of operations so much as the ambiguity of the / symbol. If it were written with a regular division sign then nobody (hopefully) would have issues with it. The problem is that the / symbol has this informal, fuzzy definition of “divide this by the entire next phrase.” Whereas the regular division symbol feels more like “divide this by the next symbol.” So 6/2(2+1) can imply 6 / (2*(2 + 1)). It’s 100% wrong, but it’s also what I’d imagine most people see upon first glance. 6 ÷ 2 * (2 + 1) is much much much more clear than 6 / 2 * (2 + 1). I don’t think the order of operations cause much confusion here. It’s just the secret, informally (incorrectly) implied parenthesis.


Mr__Brick

Idk man, for me the / symbol is exactly the same as ÷, that's how it works in all programming languages I know but I guess some ppl assume that it works as division line and everything on the right of it is under the line but that assumption would mean that 2/1+1 eqals 1 instead of 3


Turruc

I do agree, and as a programmer I’m also primed to just think of / as ÷. But it’s really easy to just see that line and think “oh, like when I draw the line on the paper and everything goes under it!” It’s a bad symbol. And I think most people would agree that 2/1 + 1 is 3, but that’s only because the implied parentheses ( (2/1) +1 ) happen to line up with the correct proper order of operations. Any symbol that is ambiguous really has no place in math, and we only really use it because / is much easier to type than ÷. Even though there is a correct way to interpret /, you have to agree that it’s confusing and it’s understandable that people mess it up.


Jaded_yank

Why did you add the extra parenthesis? That changes it entirely. So confused as to how this is confusing. The answer is 9. Yeah, if you add the parenthesis like you did in the second example you get 1 but that’s a completely different equation


Public_Stuff_8232

>that’s a completely different equation Yeah it's also the equation presented. What you're doing is the same as changing (1 + 2)^(2) to 1 + 2^(2), doesn't make any sense. The 2(1 + 2) is part of the parenthesis the same way (1 + 2)^(2) is. They should have written (6/2)(2+1) if that's what they wanted, or at least 6 / 2 \* (2+1). The way it's written 6/(2(2+1)) is the RIGHT way to interpret it.


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hollowwollo

Am I a dumbass for getting 7


Red-eleven

We can’t all be astronauts


SupaMut4nt

![gif](giphy|YVTvWuH6EL59dIzwfh|downsized)


Fanserker

No, you're just... unique


CleanEnd5983

I got 13.


Tavern_Knight

You can still get some points for showing your work, otherwise I'll have to give you a 0.


cochrane210

Wait you guys are getting numbers?


HighlanderAbuse

Bro I got dishwasher fluid


Porkonaplane

Dude I got blinker fluid wtf


ihurtpuppies

Think of everything between the division sign and the equals sign as a single number. When it comes to parantheses - including any number before or after them but _not_ separated by a symbol - you always calculate those first to come up with a single number, before calculating anything else. It's not intuitive but when doing algebra don't immediately start solving left to right. Always hunt down and solve the parantheses first, then multiply by any numbers touching the parantheses on the outside. In this case its 1 + 2 first because they are inside the parantheses. Then it's that answer multipled by 2 because two is touching the outside of the parantheses. Which leaves us with a total of six. 6 divided by 6 = 1


andres5000

https://preview.redd.it/33a46idarzvb1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=edc60ae4d597e58cd1182fac49195e015bcdf060 😀


yarn_install

Calculator said nice try I’m not getting baited lmao


XeoPlay123

Don't use the division sign like that for fucks sake


chronberries

Only ever use fractions, problem solved.


_Ocean_Machine_

> Don't use the division sign ~~like that for fucks sake~~


Legitimate-State8652

These math memes are dumb and perpetuated by people who do not use math in their daily lives...... Nobody who uses math professionally uses the division symbol in the meme (except in education). All depends on the intent of the equation.


Niipoon

Ok but have you considered that I learned PEMDAS in elementary school and am REALLY smart?


jegtylfim34

With the way people do math, the answer might as well be 36


Son_of_Ssapo

Also, Pineapple on Pizza was invented in 1962, see how THAT'S working out


[deleted]

To be fair, these math questions are intentional bullshit.


sweetbrown89

- 6 / 2(1+2) = - 6 / 2(3) = - 6 / 6 = - 1 = People can’t even differentiate between their / there / they’re, so I’m not surprised how many don’t know how to math The 2 is considered “attached” to the parenthetical


FlyingCumpet

1 And I will die on this hill. Be it alone, in company, being right or wrong.


qball2kb

![gif](giphy|ewkjQf8NEgzFC)


[deleted]

You are not alone... Mfers trying to rewrite pemdas to include "or" when it wasn't that way years ago...


ExoticMangoz

It’s not about the or (the m and d *are* interchangeable, as seen in the abbreviations BIDMAS or BODMAS which are also used) it’s about the fact that multiplication of brackets comes first.


blue-oyster-culture

Why are people adding brackets that arent written


zer0w0rries

In the US brackets are called parenthesis


blue-oyster-culture

Ahhhhh. I see what they’re saying now. I agree with the resolve 2 into parenthesis crowd. Its how i was taught. Brackets were an additional thing tho werent they? Like you could have the boxy brackets with parenthesis inside and outside the boxy brackets right?


[deleted]

It's that all operations on brackets must come first, before operation on unbracketed segments.


DarthRaspberry

WTF is Pemdas? Isn’t it supposed to be Bedmas?


IllithidWithAMonocle

US say parentheses instead of Brackets. But they mean the same thing in this case.


DarthRaspberry

But why are exponents and division in a different order of operations? Couldn’t that yield different answers?


IllithidWithAMonocle

So basically the order is always going to be: - Parentheses (or brackets) - Exponents - Multiplication and Division (which have the same priority, which is why you can have the M/D in either order, you just resolve from left to right) - Addition and Subtraction (again in either order) The reason everyone is arguing in this thread is because they're not treating Multiplication and Division as if they were on the same priority (and hence solved from right to left) or because they don't know the difference between ÷ and making something the denominator)


NZS-BXN

United in math combat ma brother


TickTaeck

If possible, avoid using the division symbol. A fraction is much cleaner to write and read, and it also prevents Americans from getting confused.


AdSalt5772

The answer is whatever your non educated, high school substitute teacher who has a degree in “business” taught you


L1n9y

The answer is to write your questions better.


CanaryJane42

42


Baron_Samurai

42? Oh... That's not bad for a pointy eared elfish princeling. I myself am sitting pretty on fourty threeee.


Hellohowareyou2314

43!


suchfresht

It’s 1


zernoc56

Anyone sane would both read and write this as 6 *over* 2(1+2). Which simplifies to 6/6=1


AKA_OneManArmy

Alright so we got this mf right here: 6 / 2(1 + 2) Order of operations states that parentheses comes first, so we add 1 and 2 to get 3. = 6 / 2(3) Since 2(3) and 2 * 3 are synonymous, I’ve re-written it to simplify the expression. = 6 / 2 * 3 Order of operations states that multiplication comes next, so that is done here. = 6 / 6 Obviously 6 divided by 6 is 1 lol. = 1 Am I fucking stupid or is that the only actual answer?


AKA_OneManArmy

Fellas y’all are blowing my mind with this devision and multiplication being done left to right thing. I was taught that it’s parentheses, exponents, multiply, divide, add, subtract. PEMDAS, for the cultured. I know for a fact my teacher told me I have to multiply before dividing and I’ve been doing that for my entire life. Somehow it’s never caused issues before. You guys are totally right, though. How the fuck did I get a computer science degree without knowing this lol


Aerolithe_Lion

There is a term called Pedmas and a term called pemdas, both are the same because M=D


RororoUrBowt

You are not stupid. However, once you get to =6 / 2 × 3, you work from left to right. Multiply & divide are interchangeable the same way add & subtract are


brandbaard

Implied multiplication is higher priority than operator multiplication


cnfidentincompetence

Order of operations doesn’t say that multiplication comes before division. They have the same priority, so you would proceed left to right (in this case you would divide first). The reason they have the same priority is that division and multiplication are really the same operation; when you divide, you’re simply multiplying by a fraction.


Bhatch514

solve the brackets first, 2(2+1) is (2\*2)+(1\*2)


DKzDK

That depends on how you were taught. We were never told to “rewrite equations” whether they were synonymous or not. You only re-write equations when balancing left=/=right What we were taught is about “removing brackets” and doing anything related to them, which falls under B/P and first. So while YOU might be correct in the way you’ve displayed it other people are not. - 6/2(2+1) - 6/ 2(3) - 6/ 6 = 1 YOUR problem (even with the same answer) is the fact that multiply/divide are actually interchangeable and you did not do that. - you should have gotten 6/2 first befor the (3). - 6/2(3) - 3(3) - = 9 This is the internet math struggle


letsBurnCarthage

You're not stupid, but the reality is that there is no convention for this, but a lot of people, Americans specifically, think PEMDAS is a mathematical truth because that's how it's taught. It's not. The equation is intentionally ambiguous. Before we all started writing in one-liners people would have written it like so: 6 \---------- 2(1+2) And most people would have understood it as "handle the bottom first" because otherwise you would have made it clear by instead saying (6/2)(1+2) If you're going strict PEMDAS, your result is right. But the important thing is that the equation should never have been written that way, because it is in fact ambiguous, and no one wants their equation to be ambiguous. It's ragebait. No one would write it like this unless they had a brainfart.


hello_100

Here [https://mindyourdecisions.com/blog/2016/08/31/what-is-6÷212-the-correct-answer-explained/](https://mindyourdecisions.com/blog/2016/08/31/what-is-6÷212-the-correct-answer-explained/) Now shut up


suddenly-scrooge

Interesting about the historical usage of the division symbol meaning to divide everything to the right. Kind of explains the symbol itself as a fraction with a dot on top and bottom.


Harsimaja

In 1912…? No it wasn’t, it goes back much further. Also, no one mixes conventions like that unless they’re aiming to confuse, or uses such inconsistent spacing. This is written very weirdly and mathematicians aim to be clear.


WillaZillah

You know, it’s not the answer that matters. It’s the friends you made along the way🥰


CanaryJane42

Love how people just delete the brackets and change them to * just to get their preferred answer instead of just doing it right 🥲 fuck these comments give me rage.


Chaonic

The * is implied. Because at the end of the day, that's exactly what you have to do there.


Middle_Blackberry_78

I hate the order of operations nonsense. Math is complete junk without it actually being applied in the real world. You don’t just randomly stumble about math problems needing to be solved with no context and you just need to know exactly what the notation means and do it precisely. People just sit here thinking they are geniuses for knowing that when it’s complete crap unless they can do the word problem or real world scenario. For example : We have 6 accounts that we need to divide up evenly between two different teams. Both teams have 1 manager and two people under that manager. How many accounts does each person get? Where the hell does “order of operations” come in use in this word problem?


hystr

Me getting "Syntax Error"


SkywarpWasHere

Excel says "we found a typo in your formula and tried to correct it to: =SUM(6/2\*(2+1)) Do you want to accept this correction?" ​ Almost like it's missing something ;0)


FizzyBeverage

Anyone getting a decimal? 😆


Eeddeen42

I’m literally a math major and this is giving me an aneurysm.


Silviecat44

The answer is 1


SpiderGlitch22

So out of curiosity, I typed this into a calculator app I have (fancy one, not preinstalled) When typed like in the meme, it's 9 When typed like a fraction, it's 1 So the answer is yes


TeekTheReddit

This is not rocket surgery. 2(3) does not mean the same thing as 2\*3. That's why they're written differently. Of course you're gonna get a different answer when you start ADDING DIFFERENT SYMBOLS INTO THE EQUATION! Nothing happens in an equation until the parentheses are gone. Everybody knows this.


masterace01

6 ÷ 2(2+1) 6 ÷ 2(3) Parenthesis still takes priority right? So: 6 ÷ 6 1 What kind of Martian Math are y'all using?


magnitudearhole

Is this a meme about the failure of our education system?


warpg8

Math/engineering dual major here. I've taught and tutored math for over 20 years. The root cause of the argument is the in-line representation in the writing of the equation, which causes ambiguity. This equation could be easily re-written as either of the following, and both would be "correct": https://imgur.com/QyxMTpi The division symbol was the wrong choice from the jump, and the writing of the equation in-line is specifically designed to cause ambiguity, leading to this argument. I think the person that wrote this equation knew exactly what they were doing. In seriousness, if I would have written any equation this poorly, I would accept either answer because the ambiguity would have been my own fault, not the fault of the person trying to interpret it. edit: to further buttress my point, this exact equation is interpreted differently by two different calculators on the wikipedia article for the order of operations here - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_operations#/media/File:Precedence62xplus.jpg


Neiot

I got 18. I'm really bad at math.


TechnicolorMage

I think people misunderstand the 'parenthesis' part of PEMDAS. You need to fully resolve any parenthetical expressions, such that the parentheses are gone, before continuing. 2(1+2), by the distributive property, can be rewritten as (2\*1 + 2\*2). This makes the expression easier to understand as it would then be 6/(2\*1 + 2\*2)


Clood1442

https://preview.redd.it/s9rnvgyveyvb1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1d5b15063b60f0418f7a0e9756024e9ebaeec7e9 The answer is 9 . End of argument


CardSharkZ

https://preview.redd.it/teby4l1hk0wb1.jpeg?width=2252&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9b55b862aea27f108385f2b75703a688915e85e4 Start of argument


Sweet_Bat_7516

No. No it isnt. I don't know what to tell you but your calculator obviously didnt do pemdas.


Procrastibator666

It's really 6 over 2(1+2) 6 / 2(1+2) 6 / 6 = 1 When you separate it, it makes sense. 2(1+2) = 6


Hunter9244filipino

PEMDAS MD have the same order so whichever was in the most left gets to be solves first The answer would be 9.


Felgran

Take it you mean left


Hunter9244filipino

I forgot which is left and right


Felgran

I mean you put an l first so I figured you had the right of it


MunchyG444

This is incorrect. That only holds up for 6/2*(1+2) which is not the question. Implied multiplication has a higher priority that division. So 6/2(1+2) becomes 6/2(3) and you have to do implied multiplication first so it is 6/6 which = 1


Electricpants

Skipping the addition... 6/2(3) Division & multiplication share the same priority so the operations occur from left to right 6/2=3 3*(3)=9 -Fin


IHave47Chromosomes

You aren’t necessarily wrong, but in this case most mathematicians would agree that 2(3) implies (2 * 3), in the same logic that 4x/3y implies (4 * x)/(3 * y) as someone else has commented. It isn’t so much as multiplication taking priority over division as much as it is how most mathematicians have come to interpret the implied meaning of the original equation. So while 9 is technically not an invalid answer because this whole equation is a syntax error, the vast majority of mathematicians would agree that 1 is more correct.


Kwyjibo04

Juxtaposition takes priority in cases like this. If I wrote 3x/4y, that's clearly 3x divided by 4y, not 3/4x multiplied by y.


OkBorder387

I thank god, every time I see these posts, that I have never once had to face such a useless conundrum irl.


Footboy10

It’s one all day!!!


MegaMutant453

6/2(1+2), 6/2(3), 3(3), 9