this post was submitted on 27 Nov 2025
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Science Memes

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[–] SSUPII@sopuli.xyz 235 points 13 hours ago (4 children)

I feel like I am getting trolled

Isn't 17 the actual right answer?

[–] NewDark@lemmings.world 123 points 13 hours ago (1 children)
[–] sem@lemmy.blahaj.zone 97 points 13 hours ago (3 children)

So it's just an unfunny meme?

[–] NewDark@lemmings.world 73 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

I think it's meant to play with your expectations. Normally someone's take being posted is to show them being confidently stupid, otherwise it isn't as interesting and doesn't go viral.However, because we're primed to view it from that lens, we feel crazy to think we're doing the math correctly and getting the "wrong answer" from what we assume is the "confident dipshit".

There's layers beyond the superficial.

I fell for it. It's crazy to think how heavily I've been trained to believe everything I see is wrong in the most embarrassing and laughable way possible. That's pretty depressing if you think about it.

[–] ExtremeDullard@piefed.social 18 points 13 hours ago

As most memes are.

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[–] marcos@lemmy.world 26 points 6 hours ago (2 children)

Some people insist there's no "correct" order for the basic arithmetic operations. And worse, some people insist the correct order is parenthesis first, then left to right.

Both of those sets of people are wrong.

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[–] RizzRustbolt@lemmy.world 8 points 13 hours ago (2 children)

There is no answer. Because there is no question.

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[–] Truscape@lemmy.blahaj.zone 65 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (10 children)

Presuming PEMDAS is our order of operations and the 5 next to the parentheses indicates multiplication...

2+5(8-5) -> 2+5(3) -> 2+15=17

Other than adding a multiplication indicator next to the left parentheses for clarification (I believe it's * for programming and text chat purposes, a miniature "x" or dot for pen and paper/traditional calculators), this seems fine, yeah.

...I worry about how many people may not understand how to solve equations like these.

[–] ftbd@feddit.org 16 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago) (6 children)

That's not even an equation, just basic arithmetic

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[–] TheRedSpade@lemmy.world 13 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (4 children)

While I never failed a math class, I also never went past high school. When would your presumptions NOT be true?

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[–] ExtremeDullard@piefed.social 54 points 13 hours ago (3 children)

5 isn't a valid function name, is obviously the right answer.

[–] TheRedSpade@lemmy.world 13 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

How can you be sure it's not defined when we only see one line?

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[–] jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 35 points 5 hours ago (4 children)

I got some people really angry at me when I suggested writing some math expression with parenthesis so it would be clearer. I think someone told me that order of operations is like a natural law and not a convention, and thus everyone should know it or be able to figure it out.

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[–] brown567@sh.itjust.works 29 points 4 hours ago (9 children)

2 5 8 5 - × + for you RPN fans =)

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[–] I_Fart_Glitter@lemmy.world 28 points 13 hours ago (8 children)
[–] KyuubiNoKitsune@lemmy.blahaj.zone 15 points 12 hours ago (18 children)

It's interesting that you can somewhat tell where you are from based on this, I learned it as BODMAS

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[–] DaMonsterKnees@lemmy.world 19 points 7 hours ago (7 children)

I'm not seeing a single mention of My Dear Aunt Sally. The youth are lost...

[–] beneeney@lemmy.zip 23 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Aunt Sally said some racist things at Thanksgiving, I'm tired of excusing her smh

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[–] Triasha@lemmy.world 17 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Pemdas, parenthesis first, for a total of 3. Then multiplication, 15, then addition. 17. What's hard about this?

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[–] Digit@lemmy.wtf 16 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago) (4 children)

Hrmm.

I read that as resulting in 21.

My education system did fail me.

I plugged that into ghci as 2+5*(8-5), and it says 17.

:(

I did (2+5)*(8-5).

Doh.

[Edit: (Double doh! Mistyped that here as 5+2. XD)]

[–] A_Chilean_Cyborg@feddit.cl 21 points 5 hours ago

You do parenthesis first and then multiplications and then sums, you did parenthesis, then sums, then multiplications, wich is wrong.

[–] Nils@lemmy.ca 10 points 4 hours ago (2 children)

plugged that into ghci as 5+2*(8-5), and it says 17.

You might want to report that error. Or, did you mean 2+5*(8-5)?

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[–] banshee@lemmy.world 11 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

I'm sorry but isn't this elementary school math?

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[–] MrSmith@lemmy.world 10 points 5 hours ago (12 children)

To all the people yelling PEMDAS and BOMBDAS or whatever - languages other than English exist.

[–] madjo@feddit.nl 9 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Meneer Van Dale Wacht Op Antwoord (Exponents, multiplication, division, root, addition, subtraction in Dutch).

[–] MrSmith@lemmy.world 12 points 3 hours ago

Just rolls off the toungue

[–] lmuel@sopuli.xyz 9 points 5 hours ago (2 children)
[–] biggeoff@sh.itjust.works 7 points 4 hours ago

Klammer, Punkt, Strich?

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[–] psx_crab@lemmy.zip 9 points 13 hours ago (2 children)

Obviously the answer is 2+x(y)

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[–] Tithen@anarchist.nexus 8 points 8 hours ago (7 children)

Was anyone else ever taught it as BOMDAS as opposed to BODMAS?

[–] Jayve@lemmy.world 15 points 8 hours ago (5 children)

PEMDAS, is that the same as BOMDAS?

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[–] Peppycito@sh.itjust.works 10 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

It was BEDMAS for us, where the E was exponents or something.

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[–] Kenny2999@lemmy.world 8 points 12 hours ago

Syntax error

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