and that that's precisely why brackets should be used in that expression.

The problem is that you took this "doesn't have a wrong answer" problem, and said it has only one right answer. Then when you tried to claim there was only one correct way to break the real ambiguity (that 2(x) is the same as 2*x), it became clear that by your own rules, the answer you gave was not the right one.

Of course your rules are consistent, they're also remarkably simple: what you initially said is deemed right, and you will hedge any way you possibly can to make it fit. First the order of operations was clear, and it unambiguously meant the answer was 2. Then, when we pointed out that wasn't true, order of operations was just a children's toy, and you don't need it. Then, when we asked why you're willing to disagree with it, the expressions had feelings, and you had to interpret them according to some kind of gut instinct. Then, when nobody went for that, you ended up on some bizarre idea (that I doubt anybody in here has heard of) that there are two different division symbols, and they have different significance for order of operations. I've probably missed a few steps, but this seems to be the general outline of your long, meandering pathway to refusing that you fucked up in one of your very first posts. At any rate, you've certainly embarrassed yourself enough that there's no need for anyone to push you any further.