I don't have enough caffeine for this

Rescued baby seal’s first swim lesson

"Something to understand about antisemitism is it isnt just ideological. The expulsion of jews from various countries was very often a method of "legally" seizing their wealth when the church needed money. It has been historically an incredibly convenient source of both a group of people to blame and also an easy way to just... Be able to steal from people, lmao. It has served very concrete material purposes for churches and governments throughout history. Sometimes you have to approach asking those questions from a different angle because it often isnt about the hatred so much as it is about ... Redirecting energy and attention, right, like upholding structures that benefit those in power. The hatred is convenient because it allows those in power to take actions that would not be tolerated if the group in question were not considered to be Exceptional in their inhumanity. Like the undocumented immigrants now, asking "why do they hate the immigrants so much" isnt always a productive avenue of thought because the hatred is usually just... Useful. Rather it is more helpful to ask "Who does it benefit for these people to be treated this way" -> "what do they need to make the general public believe about that group of people in order to justify this treatment". I think sometimes we are made to think hatred of jews is special and rooted in something different than other hatred... It's not. I mean all types of racism etc are unique. But it very much is about justifying actions that benefit a ruling class in all instances, imo."

(via @a-kyber-star)

It’s 4 AM

I just want to say

SO HERES WHY ITS TRENDING AND WHY IT TRENDS EVERY OTHER MONTH

Because some stinkass puts this pic up

Now why does this always cause such contention? In case you need a refresh from 5th grade math (understandable tbqh), PEMDAS (or if you’re british it’s, like BIMDAS or something) is a form of Order of Operations to make sure things are solved in order. Parentheses and Exponents first, then Multiplication and Division, then Addition and Subtraction.

Now this question is evil MOSTLY because of two particular motherfuckers that dont mix very well because they’re made for completely different parts of the curriculum.  The division sign (the funny line with two dots) and using 2 as a coefficient to what is seen in 2(1+2).

The division sign is literally only meant to be used by people who are literally JUST learning division. At that point, they see all math problems horizontally and haven’t been flung into the beauty (and hell) that is fractions, which is how division is almost always applied when you reach mathematics past middle school, so they use the symbol to more easily get the point across. It’s even shaped in such a way to lead people to think about fractions (with the two dots being numerator and denominator). By the time using 2 as a coefficient is introduced, that Funny Symbol is LONG gone.

So why is this question so especially evil to the point I’d go on a rant about it on a tumblr post? It’s a combination of how these two concepts blend like seltzer water and hand grenades and it highlights how we as people view disagreement as inferiority.

So taking a look at the question above, there are primarily two answers people will come to.

Answer 1: The Fraction Boys

6 / 2(1+2)      6 ———–   2(1+2)   6 —– 2(3) 6 - 6 The answer is 1

This is the answer I find myself led to since I’ve spent a lot of time in math and fractions usually act like this in more advanced equations. We see the people on the other side of the aisle as people who don’t really get how math works at a higher level

Answer 2: The Multiplication Absolutist

6 / 2(1+2) 6 / 2 x (1+2) 3 x (1+2) The answer is 9

Now HERES what makes this so diabolical. Because people will see people get 1, and they’ll be under a certain impression. You see one of the rules of PEMDAS is that you have to do P & E simultaneously, same with A & S and, most importantly for this example, Multiplication and Division. People who see people performing the Multiplication first will simply assume “OH! These fools! They dont know you have to do Division and Multiplication in the same step!! Tut tut! Learn yourself some PEMDAS!” and then about 5,000 people tweet that out and then it trends and I see red for the next few hours while I go on a mathematical nerd rage.

But which answer is right? None of them.

It’s like asking what would happen if Kirby ate The Thing. There’s no answer because it isn’t meant to happen. But Math is meant to be a completely objective thing in our world (and for the most part it very much is, especially on this level), but these two concepts were NOT meant to intertwine. Because of that there isn’t really a defined answer. The question doesn’t full explain what it’s asking like a kid who asks his science teacher “How does water do that?” and expecting a solid answer.

Random addition just because I saw this a lot in the notes and wanted to give my Take. I also learned that the coefficient thing was a part of the “P” section, but I always found that aspect of it confusing since it’s TECHNICALLY multiplication. Either way, due to commutative property you shouldn’t ever find yourself in a situation where this quirk of the P section REQUIRES coefficient to take priority over other multiplication/division (unless you count the Q above, which we’ve already established is bullshit)

So I left that part out of the explanation because it’s probably the most messy part of PEMDAS/BEDMAS/BIMDAS/BODMAS/GRANDPAS, explaining that quirk in the rules would likely just lead to more headscratching.

And while I’m responding, I might as well hit up a couple other things I saw (after all the post is long already might as well lean into it):

@ghostedmp3​ pointed this out and they are COMPLETELY correct. I completely spaced on this example (I stayed up too late playing Slay the Spire the night before lol) so thank you for that correction!

Also as another correction, a few people mentioned that P and E are NOT simultaneous, which is also correct. Again, Slay the Spire (to be fair I found a mod that lets you play as the Bug Knight from Hollow Knight. Very well made. I could write a review of it)

Of course! Like I mention here, this kind of question is MADE for condescension since it’s a supposedly objective field and a pretty early on understanding of math, so if you disagree, then clearly they must be Foolish or whatever. And when I make posts like this I try not to assume everyone’s got strength in what I’m talking about, but also to make it clear there’s no problem with that. Everyone’s built different. A Warrior shouldn’t look down on a Cleric for a lack of strength, and I shouldn’t be poking fun at anyone just because my brain does the math stuff really well because hey, I can’t read or burp on command.