787
I dunno
(piefed.cdn.blahaj.zone)
A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.

Rules
This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_operations
With math, you can invent your own notation if you like. If it makes it easier to describe certain problem. This is done often. And if it makes sense, you can also change the order of operation. You can even introduce new operations.
The notation you learn in school is just a common one, but other notations are equally valid and can be useful.
Therefore this kind of question is not a pure math question, but rather it depends on what kind of conventions or notations people want to use.
The context is what allows the math question to have a single answer. The notation is just your chosen way towards that solution and to communicate the steps to that solution to others.
The rules of math itself are much more fundamental and they don't care about how people decided to write formulas down.
isn't a Maths textbook
and rules π Haven't even got past the first sentence you quoted and it's already wrong
Rules
May disobey the rules and give wrong answers, like Texas Instruments calculators
Yep, but you cannot invent your own rules π
No it isn't.
No you can't, or you get wrong answers, like Texas Instruments calculators
But the rules are universal. You seem to be confusing notation with the rules
Yes it is
We can see for ourselves quite clearly what notation they have used. There's no mystery or debate about it
The rules of Maths is what gives it a single answer - that's what they're for! π
Yep, one of which is The Distributive Law, a(b+c)=(ab+ac).