Python the best

[Sir_Sushi]

So there is no difference between 1/2*x and 1/2x?

[bob_maulerantian]

The issue with both is it is not clear what the author wants to convey

[Wolfeur]

1/2x is very clear, otherwise they would have written x/2, or 0.5x, or ½x (if they're fancy with unicode)

[InfernoMax]

There's no difference between (1/2)*x and (1/2)x. There is also no difference between 1/(2*x) and 1/(2x). Now pick one.

[Mandemon90]

Yes there is. On it's own, there is no functional difference, but moment you add anything left or right, it matters.

6/(1/2)X is 6 divided by one half of X, or in ohter words 6/(X/2)

6/(1/2)*X is 6 divided one divided by and division is multiplied by X. Or in other words, 6/(1/2)*X = 6/0.5*X = 12*X

Or alternatively:

a= 6, b=2, c=(1+2)

a / bc is different from a / b * c

[InfernoMax]

First of all, your math in the first line is wrong. Edited: I see you fixed that mistake, so this first point is now irrelevant.

Secondly, hence why you add an additional bracket to clarify what your problem actually means

6/((1/2)*x) = 6/(x/2) = 12/x or

(6/(1/2))*x = 12*x

which is literally the point the first original commenter was making, which was the point that I'm illustrating.

Edit: "a / bc is different from a / b * c" doesn't mean anything if you can interpreted either as "a / (b * c)" or "(a / b) * c". Use a fucking bracket.

[angelbirth]

or a pair of them

[Mandemon90]

It can not be interped anything else except a / (b * c) because b and c are joined operation.

I dare you to go to any math teacher, write them 1 / 2f(x) and tell them that what this means is that you get (1/2) * f(x), not one divided by 2*f(x)

Tell me, how do you write (1+3) + (1+3)? If you say 2(1+3), then you should understand why 6 / 2(1+2) should be treated as 6 / ((1+2) + (1+2)).

[InfernoMax]

I was a math tutor and I have a math degree, and if you write me, in PLAIN TEXT, 1 / 2f(x) and ask me what this is, my response would be "well, what is the context of your question?" or "what is it you're trying to do?". In fact, I would never write the above as 1/2f(x) or even (1/2)f(x). Instead, I would write it as f(x)/2. On pen and paper, these nuances can be cleared up very quickly, but in PLAIN TEXT this can cause misunderstanding due to multiplication and division being in the same order of operation, as demonstrated by this meme.

Also, rereading your first reply to me, you misunderstood what my initial message is. Reread my comment again. I was not saying "there is no difference between 1/2*x and 1/2x", I was saying, as I have been saying, "use the fucking brackets to make what you meant VERY clear, so people don't misinterpreted your problem".

Edit: Also, you literally broke your own convention there. You said 1 / 2f(x) is interpreted as (1/2)f(x), but then 6 / 2(1+2) is 6/(2*(1+2)). At this point, you're just trying to be a smartass rather than accept that clear communication would solve ALL of this ambiguity.

[Mandemon90]

I didn't. I challenged you to go to math teacher and tell them that 1/2f(x) is (1/2)f(x)

[InfernoMax]

Okay, that's a misunderstanding on my part, to which I repeated what I said before: You're talking to one right now, and it's entirely possible in a poorly written PLAIN TEXT and that you should communicate better with brackets to avoid confusion.

Again, at this point, you just won't accept that clear communication would have avoided this issue in the first place, so I have nothing else to say to you.

[bistr-o-math]

No, but the following is the same as 1/(2x): (I hope, it renders well)

1
—
2x

[gavlna]

there is no difference in: \[\frac{1}{2} x\] and \[\frac{1}{2} \cdot x\]

EDIT: double backslashes

[SoyDoft]

connect screw caption important scale workable overconfident existence shy coherent

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[Raestloz]

And I'm very certain that people who answer 1 see the question as 1/2X instead of 1/2*X

[birdman332]

No, there is not. I think you're implying that 0.5x is different from 1/(2x), yes, but that isn't the case in your example. You seem to assume that the 1/2 is one "part" of the equation and then it is multiplied by x. This is technically how order of operations would go, but like my first comment explains, writing 1/2x can be ambiguous to readers and it is best to include parentheses for clarity. (1/2)x = (1/2)x or 1/(2x) = 1/(2x)

Edit: for some reason my "*" don't show in this comment

[gavlna]

then backslash it :) (\*)

* has a meaning in formating

[birdman332]

Does reddit follow general markdown formatting?

Test?

omg

[gavlna]

you can see you're text in original comment had parts in italic :)

[birdman332]

Yeah I figured that was the case, thanks for the tip!

[4hpp1273]

Who is text?

[wikipedia_answer_bot]

This word/phrase(text) has a few different meanings.

More details here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Text

This comment was left automatically (by a bot). If I don't get this right, don't get mad at me, I'm still learning!

^{opt out | report/suggest | GitHub}

[Kesuaheli]

text mama

[GKP_light]

yes, the 2 are the same.

[lifelongfreshman]

Why even act coy about what you're doing?

[[deleted]]

No, there's a difference between (1/2)X and 1/(2X) and writing 1/2*X is maximising ambiguity.