User blog comment:Mh314159/Alpha numbers (and beyond)/@comment-35470197-20191007022858/@comment-35470197-20191007234842

For subscripts, we do not have a common convention. Therefore you can use \(3_2^2\) without ambiguity as long as you specify the computation rule. (I think that \(3_2^{/2}\) looks clearer, though. You can choose which one you like.) On the other hand, \(3^2\) has a commonly used definition as a power. Therefore it is actually ambiguous.