Is BODMAS a recent thing ie last 40 years or so .. or has it always been around?

[loveyouradvice]

I don't remember learning it at schools - and I remember using FAR more brackets all over the place which guided order of actions....

I definitely learned it at school. I’m 51.

It was about when I was at school and I'm 51

I learned it at school and I'm 56

I learned at school and I'm 40

I did not learn it, definitely a new technique for me. I am in my 40s.

I definitely had it and Im 48

What decade were you at school?
It was very much a thing in the 80s/90s when I was at school.
And in the 50s/60s when my parents were.
Its also referred to as BIDMAS and PEDMAS

I didn’t learn it at school - I’m late 40s.

I don't remember it. I'm 52. I didn't know what it was, I had to look it up. I think it's possible I did get taught it and have forgotten though, I haven't retained a lot of maths knowledge.

I know and understand it but definitely don't remember ever being taught it at school. I passed GCSE A* in 1994.

I have no clue what you are talking about

It is now taught as BIDMAS (I=Indices), rather than O for Orders ie. Powers/Roots.

My father learnt it and he's 83. I learnt it and I'm 56 (although it was BEDMAS with the E for Exponents). My kids learnt it too.

The order of operations isn't new.

It determines the order in which you solve a mathematical equation
brackets first
then indices
multiplication or division (left to right)
then addition, subtraction ( also left to right)

so (simple example) 2+2x2 equals 6 not 8 because you multiply before addition.

How did you manage to get your answers correct in Maths without knowing about the order of operations?

Eg even something as simple as 1+2x3 will get you a wrong answer without BODMAS.

42 here and learnt it. The name changes sometimes but the concept doesn't, it's been in use for hundreds of years.

No the concept of needing to have the rules of order of operations has been around since the 1800s! It has been various things but is just an agreed order

really () should be used!

all it is is an agreed set of rules as to how any sum should be approached in order to get the same answer

Can any mathematicians explain why there is an order? I learned to follow the rule but I don’t understand if it’s just a convention, or grounded in logic

I'm fairly sure it was agreed it upon in the 17th C, and definitely by the 19th

60 and definitely learned it at school. I can't imagine how you'd do even the most basic calculations without it.

When people say "school", do they mean secondary school or a school with sixth form?

I'm late 40s and didn't learn it. Nor was I ever taught grammar.

64 and learned it at secondary school, aged about 12 or 13

It's an internationally agreed standard for mathematics. If it wasn't agreed upon, the same sum could have multiple answers, which would make shared research impossible.

I think we teach it in Year 6 of primary school these days!