SO HERES WHY ITS TRENDING AND WHY IT TRENDS EVERY OTHER MONTH
Because some stinkass puts this pic up
Now why does this always cause such contention? In case you need a refresh from 5th grade math (understandable tbqh), PEMDAS (or if you’re british it’s, like BIMDAS or something) is a form of Order of Operations to make sure things are solved in order. Parentheses and Exponents first, then Multiplication and Division, then Addition and Subtraction.
Now this question is evil MOSTLY because of two particular motherfuckers that dont mix very well because they’re made for completely different parts of the curriculum. The division sign (the funny line with two dots) and using 2 as a coefficient to what is seen in 2(1+2).
The division sign is literally only meant to be used by people who are literally JUST learning division. At that point, they see all math problems horizontally and haven’t been flung into the beauty (and hell) that is fractions, which is how division is almost always applied when you reach mathematics past middle school, so they use the symbol to more easily get the point across. It’s even shaped in such a way to lead people to think about fractions (with the two dots being numerator and denominator). By the time using 2 as a coefficient is introduced, that Funny Symbol is LONG gone.
So why is this question so especially evil to the point I’d go on a rant about it on a tumblr post? It’s a combination of how these two concepts blend like seltzer water and hand grenades and it highlights how we as people view disagreement as inferiority.
So taking a look at the question above, there are primarily two answers people will come to.
Answer 1: The Fraction Boys
6 / 2(1+2)
6
———–
2(1+2)
6
—–
2(3)
6
-
6
The answer is 1
This is the answer I find myself led to since I’ve spent a lot of time in math and fractions usually act like this in more advanced equations. We see the people on the other side of the aisle as people who don’t really get how math works at a higher level
Answer 2: The Multiplication Absolutist
6 / 2(1+2)
6 / 2 x (1+2)
3 x (1+2)
The answer is 9
Now HERES what makes this so diabolical. Because people will see people get 1, and they’ll be under a certain impression. You see one of the rules of PEMDAS is that you have to do P & E simultaneously, same with A & S and, most importantly for this example, Multiplication and Division. People who see people performing the Multiplication first will simply assume “OH! These fools! They dont know you have to do Division and Multiplication in the same step!! Tut tut! Learn yourself some PEMDAS!” and then about 5,000 people tweet that out and then it trends and I see red for the next few hours while I go on a mathematical nerd rage.
But which answer is right? None of them.
It’s like asking what would happen if Kirby ate The Thing. There’s no answer because it isn’t meant to happen. But Math is meant to be a completely objective thing in our world (and for the most part it very much is, especially on this level), but these two concepts were NOT meant to intertwine. Because of that there isn’t really a defined answer. The question doesn’t full explain what it’s asking like a kid who asks his science teacher “How does water do that?” and expecting a solid answer.
Then I go to the person who posted it who said “OMG I dont see how you couldn’t get 7″ being deliberately obtuse so they could spend the next 20 replies posting their KPop fancams and sex toy ads. God I hate Twitter.
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