I'd use it to solve it, as per my previous comment on the difference between solving and simplifying.

thinking the funny symbols on the paper follow absolute laws

They do. Maths is universal, just like the laws of Physics (which are often written using Maths BTW).

Afaik the order of operations doesn’t have distributive property in it

The Distributive Law applies to all bracketed terms that have a coefficient. It's literally the first step in solving brackets.

The problem is that there’s no “external” parentheses to really tell us which is right: (8 / 2) * 4 or 8 / (2 * 4)

The Distributive Law tells us it's the latter.

This is the best video out there

Debunked here - she never once refers to an actual Maths textbook!

Problem with PEMDAS: Why Calculators Disagree https://youtu.be/4x-BcYCiKCk

Debunked here - she never once refers to an actual Maths textbook!

People in this thread need to watch this: https://youtu.be/lLCDca6dYpA

Debunked here. She managed to never once refer to an actual Maths textbook! Spoiler alert: everyone who has claimed it's "ambiguous" has done the same thing - no references to any Maths textbooks.

Mathematica

Maths doesn’t refer to several kinds of math

It refers to all branches of Mathematics.

I don’t understand why people say Maths

Because it's plural.

every single type of Math

In other words, every branch of Mathematics.

There's no such thing as implicit multiplication.

They were right but for the wrong reason

As are you. There is no such thing as implicit multiplication - the actual relevant rules are Terms and The Distributive Law.

explicitly ambiguous

#MathsIsNeverAmbiguous #DontForgetDistribution

How to be inert.

Be alert - the world needs more lerts