The Debate over 6 / 2(1+2)
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Yes, that debate again. I've read about that debate breaking the social
networks. Some say that the result is 1, other say it is 9.
The ones who say 9 say so because of the PEMDAS rule:
Parentheses first, then exponents, then multiplications and division,
and finally additions and subtractions.
So, you should first parse the value of the expression in parntheses;
everyone agrees it is 3. Then divide 6 by two, and finally multiply the
result by 3.
But look at the way the expression is written: no multipliction operator
and furthermore, there is one space before the division operator and after it
while the 2 is adjacnt to the parentheses. So, it looks like you first multiply
2 by the sum in parentheses and then divide it into 6.
The expression can be interpreted as 6 divided by twice the sum of 1 and 2.
That makes sense because 6/2x is not likely to be interpreted as 3x.
So, there is a great debate between two group of people calling each other
names. WTF?
When I was a young math student in the university, we never used the a division
operator outside a computer program, and in those programs we used the asterisk
for multiplication operator. So, please if you use the solidus or another
division operator, use a multiplication dot or cross as well.
