this post was submitted on 18 Dec 2025
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Math is not a democracy (lemmy.world)
submitted 3 weeks ago by Mog_Spawn@lemmy.world to c/memes@lemmy.world
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[–] SmartmanApps@programming.dev 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

no one would ever write a problem like this

And yet Maths textbooks do! 😂

when was the last time I saw an X to mean multiplication

In a Maths textbook

1+1÷2 doesn’t even register in my brain properly

You don't know that the obelus means divide??

[–] bisby@lemmy.world 0 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

And yet Maths textbooks do! 😂

"No one" in this context meant "no one who actually does maths professionally."

In a Maths textbook

Right, and I have decades of maths experience outside of textbooks. So it's probably been 20 years since I had a meaningful interaction with the × multiplication symbol.

You don’t know that the obelus means divide??

I clearly know what the symbol means, I demonstrated a use of it. But again, haven't had a meaningful interaction with the symbol in 20 years, and yet I deal with / for division daily.

When I see 1+½ i can instantly say "one and a half", but when I see 1 + 1 ÷ 2 i actually have to pause for a moment to think about order of operations. Same with 1+2x vs 1 + 2 × x ... one I recognize the structure of the problem immediately, and one feels foreign.

The point is that people who do maths for a living, and are probably above average in maths, tend to write things differently than people who are stopped their maths education in high school (or lower), and these types of memes are designed around making people who know high school maths feel smart. People who actually know maths don't need memes to justify being better at maths than the rest of the public.

[–] SmartmanApps@programming.dev 0 points 1 week ago

“No one” in this context meant “no one who actually does maths professionally.”

No it doesn't. Everyone who does Maths professionally does it the same way as in Maths textbooks 🙄

When I see 1+½ i can instantly say “one and a half”

And that would be wrong. It's 1 plus one half. 1½ is one and a half.

when I see 1 + 1 ÷ 2 i actually have to pause for a moment to think about order of operations

You don't know to Divide before Adding??

one I recognize the structure of the problem immediately, and one feels foreign.

Says person with "decades of maths experience outside of textbooks" 🙄

The point is that people who do maths for a living

That would be me

are probably above average in maths, tend to write things differently than people who are stopped their maths education in high school (or lower)

Nope. We all write it the same way as we were taught, even those who have done Maths at University (also me).

these types of memes are designed around making people who know high school maths feel smart

No, they're designed around getting those who have forgotten the rules to argue about it. i.e. engagement bait