>>Alan,
>>
>>It takes precedence because it does. I'm not making this up. Whether or not anyone can find alternate authorities as proof doesn't matter to me. I'm not going to wade through all of the crap sources on the internet that proclaim that -2 squared is -4. They are flatly wrong.
>
>Seems to me that if the math authorities and the math rules show that -2^2 is -4, then yes, you are making it up. When the next space shuttle sent to the moon ends up in alpha centauri, it's going to be on your head.

I've yet to see any math "authority" say that. I've seen planty of internet quotes saying that but being on the internet does not make one an authority.