negative number raised to even power

[Gerald H]

(04-25-2015 05:35 PM)Brad Barton Wrote:  

(04-25-2015 05:24 PM)DrD Wrote:  Parentheses are a good thing!

-Dale-

Isn't that a funny thing to say when one of the common refrains sung in praising RPN is the elimination of the need for parentheses? Sorry, couldn't resist a little tongue-in-cheek jab.

And I agree. If you leave the parentheses out of (-2)^2, a negative answer must result.

Brad

Not tongue in cheek, parentheses in logic & arithmetic are an abomination.

Consider CAAKpqrKKqpCprKqp - in Lukasiewicz notation - a glance tells you the expression is well-formed & what the top-level relationship is.