Electronics > Beginners
Exponents
ebastler:
--- Quote from: Buriedcode on April 11, 2019, 03:08:41 pm ---As for excel being "wrong", anyone who doesn't use parentheses correctly is relying on whatever rules their software uses which as can be seen from this thread, varies. As to which software is "right", again this depends on what rules it uses, and will just go around in circles of people saying "but but but its wrong!".
The take home message is - correct/strict use of parentheses isn't optional. Complaining that software doesn't do things how you expect when you don't use them isn't the fault of the software, it is the fault of the user.
--- End quote ---
Sorry, that's still a distorted view in my opinion.
Mathematical notation came first, with a headstart of probably a couple hundred years over Excel. Then Excel came along, which clearly plays in the field of mathematics. (At least they did choose to use the conventional numerals... ::)) And they "chose" to implement unary minus with a different precedence, out of ignorance. How is that not "wrong"?
As a result, we are now forced to use redundant parantheses to work around the Excel-induced errors and confusion. Not "correct" or "strict" parentheses, mind you.
tggzzz:
--- Quote from: Buriedcode on April 11, 2019, 03:08:41 pm ---As for excel being "wrong", anyone who doesn't use parentheses correctly is relying on whatever rules their software uses which as can be seen from this thread, varies.
--- End quote ---
Do you seriously believe that software is a definition of anything?
Unless you are inconsistent, you have to agree that this isn't unreasonable:
7 - 7 = 0
and
7 - 7 - 7 = 7
and
7 - 7 - 7 - 7 = 0
and
7 - 7 - 7 - 7 - 7 = 7
since that's what happens in one computer language.
Nominal Animal:
--- Quote from: tggzzz on April 11, 2019, 02:28:58 pm ---something that has been invariant for hundreds of years across all civilisations, and they were taught in school
--- End quote ---
No such "invariant for hundreds of years across all civilisations" math notation exist. Whoever told you that, lied. See any history of mathematics book.
magic:
--- Quote from: Buriedcode on April 11, 2019, 02:59:11 pm ---I have noticed a lot of threads that deal with education or the basics of engineering/mathematics have this air of "in my day things were better" from the older generation. Of course people are going to think that, because otherwise it implies that their education - and by extension, themselves - is/was substandard or outdated.
--- End quote ---
I have noticed a lot of people trying to explain away simple and widely acknowledged facts by insinuating that they exist only in imaginations of fragile egos.
I have heard old date university teachers talking about the first year students coming in "these days". I have seen highschool textbooks from 20 years prior and compared them to mine. I know what to think without any of your whataboutism, thank you very much. Don't even want to go on a rant about your assumption that "not better" somehow implies "worse or outdated". Particularly in maths and science.
I have also heard similar complaints from various Westerners so it's not just my country. Maybe yours is different, but frankly, there are obvious mechanisms driving education downwards and they are ubiquitous in all of the first world, so I doubt it. Namely: more (read: dumber) people are pushed into education for longer years so standards must be adjusted accordingly, every ten years somebody invents a new and better way of teaching the same stuff, everything is being bureaucratized to the point where teachers have to teach themselves to follow the latest rules rather than teach their students, education is mostly/largely public and underfunded (is it Finland that's an exception? how many such countries?) and so on.
rstofer:
--- Quote from: tggzzz on April 11, 2019, 03:23:58 pm ---
7 - 7 - 7 = 7
and
7 - 7 - 7 - 7 = 0
--- End quote ---
We had APL on the IBM 1130 back in '70 but I never got around to playing with it. I didn't realize it evaluated from right to left.
Interesting!
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version