>Metin,
>
>> but online math calculator, my math. eng. friend and my daughter say -4... :(
>
>They are all wrong. The answer is 4.
>
>The unary negation operation has higher precedence than exponentiation.
>
>I order for the answer to be -4, the expression would have to be -(2**2) using parens in order to force the exponentiation to happen first.

This is a very interresting discussion. I would have gone along with you on the unary operator being a higher precedence than exponentiation. However, after reading this thread adn the supporting links to the various arguments I am beginning to agree with the idea that unary sign is at the precedence evel of multiplication and division.