>>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.
>
>I have spent some time on the google path finding all sorts of conflicting information about the precedence of unary signs, but it still comes down to the simple fact that -2 squared is 4
>not -4. Makes no difference what the precedence of the operations are -2 * -2 is 4 and I woudl therefore conclude that -2^3 is -8 as it is -2 * -2 = 4 * -2 = -8.

I don't think it does. The question isn't what is negative 2 squared, the question is whether -2^2 written is by order of precedence:

-(2^2) = -4 *mathematics
or
(-2) ^2 = 4 *some programming languages

only because it was initially written without parenthesis.

Just to stir the pot some more :o)