Spotlight math: exponentiation order of operations is wrong

Originator:igeek1
Number:rdar://44618910 Date Originated:19-Sep-2018 06:10 PM
Status:Closed (not fixed) Resolved:27-Sep-2018
Product:macOS + SDK Product Version:macOS 10.13.6 (17G2307)
Classification:Serious Bug Reproducible:Always
 
Summary:
2^3^2

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Open Spotlight.
2. Enter 2^3^2

Expected Results:
512

Actual Results:
64

Version:
macOS 10.13.6 (17G2307)

Notes:
Order of operations appears to be evaluated incorrectly. Reproduced on Mojave beta as well.

Comments

Apple requested a sysdiagnose, then replied with the following:

"The result is correct under math rules"

Note: apparently, this is not as standardized as I thought, but Google.com, Wolfram Alpha, and the bc command line calculator all use right-associative exponentiation. More info here: https://codeplea.com/exponentiation-associativity-options


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