"Acid Pooh" wrote in message
om...
JE McGimpsey wrote in message
...
In article ,
Dave Seaman wrote:

By the definition of unary minus, -x^2 is the number such that
x^2 + (-x^2) = 0.

Without a citation to "the definition" you're using, this is not
persuasive.

Your statement begs the question of operator precedence, and using it to
argue for a particular order of precedence is therefore a tautology.

Any introductory course on abstract algebra. -x is the additive
inverse of x: the number such that x + (-x) = 0.

'cid 'ooh

I do believe that most posters in this thread know that. However, while the
meaning of -x may be clear, the meaning of -x^2 is not.

--

Vasant