Please excuse my dear Aunt Sally. Most of us learned that mnemonic device at some point in our mathematical education. Calculations must be done in an appropriate succession to reflect distributive ...

The answer could be 1 or it could be 16, or it could be both. There are two problems, according to the computer science professor: the order and the obelus. An obelus is this: ÷ and it has a variety ...

The confusion (likely intentional) boiled down to a discrepancy between the math rules used in grade school and in high school. By Steven Strogatz Recently I wrote about a math equation that had ...