this post was submitted on 18 Dec 2025
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If you look at the arguments on math forums, you'll see that there isn't just one rule.
It is a convention, and different places teach different conventions.
Namely, some places say that
PEDMASis a very strict order. Other places say that it isPE D|M A|S, where D and M are the same level and order is left-to-right, and same with addition vs subtraction.And others, even in this post, say it's
PEMDAS, which I have heard before."Correct" and "incorrect" don't apply to conventions, it's simply a matter of if the people talking agree on the convention to use. And there are clearly at least three that highly educated people use and can't agree on.
But they all teach the same rules
Which is totally fine and works
Which is also totally fine and works
Also totally fine and works
No-one has to agree on any convention - they can use whatever they want and as long as they obey the rules it will work
Educated people agree that which convention you use doesn't matter.
That's not true Here is an example:
8÷2x4
PEMDAS: 8÷2x4 = 8÷8 = 1
PEDMAS: 8÷2x4 = 4x4 = 16
PE M|D A|S: 8÷2x4 = 4x4 = 16
And thats not even getting into juxtaposition operations, where fields like physics use conventions that differ from most other field.
but you're missing the point. It could be SAMDEP and math would still work, you'd just rearrange the equation. Just like with prefix or postfix notation. The rules don't change, just the notation conventions change. But you need to agree on the notation conventions to reach the same answer.
Yes it is
Yep.
Nope. PEMDAS: 8x4÷2 = 32÷2 = 16. What you actually did is 8÷(2x4), in which you changed the sign in front of the 4 - 8÷(2x4)= 8÷2÷4 - hence your wrong answer
Yep, same answer regardless of the order 🙄
Which I have no doubt you don't understand how to do those either, given you don't know how to even do Multiplication first in this example.
Nope! The obey all the rules of Maths. They would get wrong answers if they didn't
No, you are...
No it can't because no it wouldn't 😂
Says someone who didn't rearrange "PEMDAS: 8÷2x4 = 8÷8 = 1" and got the wrong answer 😂
Hence why "PEMDAS: 8÷2x4 = 8÷8 = 1" was wrong. You violated the rule of Left Associativity
Ok, then explain prefix and postfix, where these conventions don't apply. How can these be rules of math when they didn't universally apply?
The order of operations tells us how to interpret an equation without rearranging it. When you pick a different convention, you need to rearrange it to get the same answer. What you did was rearrange the equation, which you can only do if you are already following a specific convention.
All conventions can produce the correct answer, when appropriately arranged for that convention, because the conventions are not laws of mathematics, they are conventions.
They obey the laws of math. Conventions aren't laws of math, they're conventions. And a quick Google search will tell you that not everyone puts juxtaposition at a higher precedent than multiplication; it's a convention. As long as people are using the same convention, they'll agree on an answer and that answer is correct.
You can be mean all you like, that doesn't change the nature of conventions