It sure is. I’ve seen a PhD who didn’t read the only textbook he had referenced in his thesis, which proved his idea that teachers were doing it wrong and he wasn’t, was wrong. 😂 Should’ve listened to the people who teach it (or actually read the textbook he referenced 🙄 ).
which makes students of math feel inordinately inferior
They don’t. All students get this correct. It’s only adults who have forgotten the rules that get it wrong.
these gotcha-style math memes IMO deepen students’ belief that they’re just bad at math
Nope. Students never get these wrong.
proofs mean something very specific to me and I can’t yet imagine what that looks like WRT order of operations
All you have to do is see which way gives wrong answers for 2+3x4 and you’ve proven which ways don’t work 😂
note that conventions aren’t necessarily “optional”
Yes they are.
when being understood is essential
You don’t understand how to do 2+3x4-5 without knowing which conventions people use for the order of the plus and minus?
Here I am only concerned about the next generation of maths student and how viral content like this can discourage them unnecessarily
It sure is. I’ve seen a PhD who didn’t read the only textbook he had referenced in his thesis, which proved his idea that teachers were doing it wrong and he wasn’t, was wrong. 😂 Should’ve listened to the people who teach it (or actually read the textbook he referenced 🙄 ).
They don’t. All students get this correct. It’s only adults who have forgotten the rules that get it wrong.
Nope. Students never get these wrong.
All you have to do is see which way gives wrong answers for 2+3x4 and you’ve proven which ways don’t work 😂
Yes they are.
You don’t understand how to do 2+3x4-5 without knowing which conventions people use for the order of the plus and minus?
It doesn’t. None of them get it wrong. 🙄