system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why do double minuses become positive, and two pluses never make a negative?
gpt
Image you’re facing me.

I instruct you to turn around and then walk backwards.

This is a negative (turned around) multiplied by a negative (walking backwards)

But you’re *getting closer* to me.  Negative times negative has given you positive movement.

What if you just faced me and walked forwards?  Still moving towards me from positive times positive.

Any multiplication of positives will always be positive.  Even number multiplication sequences of negatives will also be positive as they “cancel out” - flipping the number line over twice.