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I'm unfamiliar with it: what is the cliché about multiplication vs exponentiation?

The point is that that vs doesn't even make sense. It's like saying what wheel is your favorite in your car, the front left or the rear left. Arguing for calculus vs linear algebra is equally stupid. They are different branches of mathematics with different domains of application.

This I understand, but that sentence with "cliché" in it I still don't get.

It's pretty clear to me that the OP just used the word cliche where it didn't belong. Fortunately the idea still came across. Perhaps you were truly confused, but it sounds more like you're playing dumb to force the OP to admit the mistake.

If by "the idea still came across", you mean I was able to guess approximately what the OP meant, you're right. I was curious about exactly what he or she meant and that's why I asked.

And I wasn't playing dumb. For one thing, even if I assumed the word cliché was used incorrectly, I still couldn't easily guess exactly what the OP really meant. Second, I don't like assuming people are using words incorrectly, it is safer to ask what is meant.

cliché.

Arguments about nothing are all the same.

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