>> So... any associative operation then?
> 
> yes. because associativity is the property that you are using in the 
> reordering.

I guess most people just instinctively "know" that addition and 
multiplication are associative (not to mention commutative) without 
thinking about it too deeply.

>>> BTW Why did you choose this example with such a lot or irrelevant 
>>> detail?
>>
>> My brain is like mush this morning. This was the first correct example 
>> I could find. It's about 10 years ago that I discovered this effect, 
>> so I wasn't even sure if I was remembering right!
> 
> I think that as soon as you find an example you try to reduce it to the 
> bare essentials and post that. The same actually as when posting a bug.

Ooo, 2 extra operations. Big deal.

>> (Currently attempting to build a Haskell parser, printer and type 
>> interence engine. 
> 
> One word: why?

Two words: why not?

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