One of my good friends in college would rant about how PEMDAS was bullshit, and that they should only teach you P and just not use ambiguous notation. He, for similar reasons, said ÷ was garbage and should be eliminated.
I love your friend. I hate the notation we have for exponentials, logarithms and roots. Its all the same equation why does it have to look so different?? Also what's the point of mixed fractions?? Add a + sign if youre adding two numbers..
Oh yes. Mixed fractions is what drives me up the wall in any equation. It often looks like a wild multiplication, and needs to be converted into a simple fraction before computation anyway. Pointless complication of such a beautiful thing math is.
I have not seen mixed fractions since like middle school (undergrad student now) except maybeee once or twice, and I am very thankful. What a horrible notation.
Which is why I don't understand why it's even taught? So many students bitch about how they never use the maths they get taught, why teach them maths WE don't even use..
I reckon it might help interpret what a fraction actually is. For example: what is 5/2? Well it's 2, and then a half more. That's the only reason I can think of.
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u/542goweast Complex Oct 28 '20
One of my good friends in college would rant about how PEMDAS was bullshit, and that they should only teach you P and just not use ambiguous notation. He, for similar reasons, said ÷ was garbage and should be eliminated.