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this post was submitted on 19 Jun 2025
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Math Memes
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Oh, you don't know how to read, carry on then.
lol are legitimately saying this was not a joke?
I mean, I guess I have no reason to doubt your word so I'll just believe you were being serious and respond in kind.
Time savings you might gain from parentheses being easier to write and requiring less keystrokes is lost on you needing to use twice as many since they come in pairs.
Furthermore, with the exception of *, which we don't even write most of the time, you still need to use all of the other operators even with parentheses, so using them everywhere isn't even a trade off, it's a net loss. This also means that parentheses will not help you differentiate between the operators because you'll still be using them.
Finally, the only reason you find the example I gave easier to read with parentheses is because I used a lot of multiplication, but you have multiplication to thank for that, not parentheses. In most cases, it would have fairly simple expressions like this:
1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8
turned into this:
1+(2+(3+(4+(5+(6+(7+(8))))))
If you truly want to eliminate ambiguity, have a look at reverse polish notation. I find it confusing as hell but some people like it.
Ok, now I'm curious, why is it only after I call you out that you decide to read what I wrote with any criticality? What about my argument (which I happily acknowledged was based purly on personal experience, and therefore not all parts are universally applicable to everyone) makes you think I'm nothing more than a dumb internet troll with no meaningful opinions or thoughts worth sharing or discussing like adults?
Sure, parenthesis need a buddy, but I still find them a lot faster to type simply because it is always the exact same two keys. No stopping to hunt for operators and symbols that seem to move or disappear every, single, fucking, time. When handwriting, parenthesis only takes one single, quick stroke that stays in line with what you are writing (maybe a small thing, but I find it important if my hands hurt, aka. always).
At no point have I argued the elimination of the operators, only that using them exclusively determine order of operations presents an accessibility issue and is largely unintuitive for many individuals.
The actual reason I find the parenthesis easier to read is because it isolates the problem into distinct, physically easier to read sections that eliminates a hard to distinguish operator and creates a clear step-by-step process to solving the problem that doesn't really on any rule beyond working from the inside out.
Single operator problems can be solved in any sequence, no parenthesis or order of operations needed. In your example, it's literally no different than combining like terms. But beyond basic cases like that, parenthesis always create a more comprehensible problem. Tell me, which is more clear and has less room for error:
1+2+3×4+5+6
1+2+3÷4+5+6
1+2×3÷4*5-6
OR
(1+2+3)(4+5+6)
(1+2+3)/(4+5+6)
1+((2×3)/(4×5))-6
Literally, all I'm arguing is that parenthesis make math easier to read and less prone to error or unintentional misinterpretation and should therefore replace the potential amigousness of order of operations. On top of that, I find them to be dramatically more efficient. Not everyone feels the same, fair enough, not really trying to paint with broad strokes on that front.