So, Facebook has a new feature. It allows you to create a question that can then become public, which means that even people who aren't your friends can eventually answer it. One man, in all his wisdom, decided to ask a math question. The question he posed is as follows:
6/2(1+2) = ?
Now, the unfortunate truth about this problem is that it is a poorly written equation. 1.8 million people have answered this question. A slight majority believes that the answer is 9 rather than 1. There is a good number of people who claim that, according to the Order of Operations, the problem is equated with (6/2)*(1+2). The answer to this second equation is obviously 9. And that is the reason that I felt the need to say something. For the last couple decades or so American schools have failed to teach their students basic math concepts like the order of operations. It's really not a difficult concept to master, but the teachers allow students to pass math without an understanding of math because they don't want to spend the time teaching it. The tests are curved, the homework is repetitive and unhelpful, and the teachers don't know how to teach math to their students because they don't think it's important. But folks, when so many people get a simple problem, like the one above, wrong, you know there's an issue. Also, trying to write down equations on the computer causes issues because you can only use a single line to write an equation. Use a pencil and some paper, it's a lot easier to read.
For the record, The Piebald Penguin would answer the above question with 1 because when I read a question like that, I take it to mean 6/(2(1+2)). But that's just my opinion.
~The Piebald Penguin
