title: What are the exact problems with Octave's power operator?
body: <p>From <a href="https://octave.org/doc/v4.4.1/Arithmetic-Ops.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Octave docs about arithmetic operators § <code>x ** y</code> (power operator)</a>:</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>The implementation of this operator needs to be improved. </p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>Ouch. So basically the documentation says "Please be careful, there are problems with this operator" but falls short of specifying what exact problems are to be expected.</p>
  
  <p>What exactly must a user be aware of when using the <code>**</code> operator in Octave?</p>