re: Bizarre Math Question and Answer breaks the internet - Sorry if already posted

I just finished reading this whole thread and it's pretty funny the amount of bad math done here. First, who writes a math equation like that? Second, all of you who keep writing it as 48/2(9+3) are not writing the same thing as 48÷2(9+3). When typing on a computer, 48/2(9+3) is implying the same thing as (48/2)(9+3), in which 288 is correct. The issue is the elementary/ambiguous way the equation is written because it leaves room for interpretation, and that is not how math problems are supposed to be written. That equation can be interpreted as either:

48
2(9+3)

or

48 (9+3)
2

Personally, I interpret it as 48 divided by 2(9+3), but once again, it's in a form that would never be used in any real math.

Also, to whoever laughed at the notion that you can work in any direction on 5-2+3=x, you can work it in any order if it is written correctly. The correct form is 5+(-2)+3=6...all subtraction is addition of negative numbers.