Yes but my point is that -4^2 is not the same as
2 -4
because the latter by convention means - (4^2).
In other words, superscripts bind tighter than prefix ops but prefix ops bind tighter than infix.
I see. My point is that there already exists a convention[1] that the way to type in 2 -4 is -4^2 which means -(4^2) not (-4)^2 because - as a prefix op has the same precedence as binary subtraction, not super tight like normal prefix ops (i.e. normal function application) as you would like it to be (if I understand correctly). You are welcome to break an existing (unofficial) convention for the sake of lexical syntax[2]. Cheers, Jared. [1] On my TI89 calculator (where there are even two - buttons: a little "negative unary" button and a "binary subtract" button). It pretty prints 2 -4 = -16 when I punch in -4^2 (where - is the "negative unary" button). The answer is -16. Python (-4**2 = -4 ** 2 = - 4 ** 2 = -16) and Matlab and Mathematica agree (-4^2 = -4 ^ 2 = - 4 ^ 2 = -16). [2] http://wadler.blogspot.com/2006/01/bikeshed-coloring.html -- http://www.updike.org/~jared/ reverse ")-:"