this post was submitted on 12 Dec 2023
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6÷2(1+2) (programming.dev)
submitted 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 

https://zeta.one/viral-math/

I wrote a (very long) blog post about those viral math problems and am looking for feedback, especially from people who are not convinced that the problem is ambiguous.

It's about a 30min read so thank you in advance if you really take the time to read it, but I think it's worth it if you joined such discussions in the past, but I'm probably biased because I wrote it :)

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago (9 children)

It's covered in the blog, but this is likely due to a bias towards Strong Juxtaposition rules for parentheses rather than Weak. It's common for those who learned math into advanced algebra/ beginning Calc and beyond, since that's the usual method for higher math education. But it isn't "correct", it's one of two standard ways of doing it. The ambiguity in the question is intentional and pervasive.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 11 months ago (7 children)

My argument is specifically that using no separation shows intent for which way to interpret and should not default to weak juxtaposition.

Choosing not to use (6/2)(1+2) implies to me to use the only other interpretation.

There's also the difference between 6/2(1+2) and 6/2*(1+2). I think the post has a point for the latter, but not the former.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago (2 children)

I don't know what you want, man. The blog's goal is to describe the problem and why it comes about and your response is "Following my logic, there is no confusion!" when there clearly is confusion in the wider world here. The blog does a good job of narrowing down why there's confusion, you're response doesn't add anything or refute anything. It's just... you bragging? I'm not certain what your point is.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

None of this has a point. We're talking over a shitpost rant about common use of math symbols. Even the conclusion boils down to it being a context dependent matter of preference. I'm just disagreeing that the original question as posed should be interpreted with weak juxtaposition.

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