LaTex: what does f(x)=x^2 mean

[galactus]

Occasionally, when I try writing in LaTex, I get an irritating \(\displaystyle f(x)=x^{2}\).

This appears in lieu of what I have actually typed. What's up?. Is this due to some

error I have made?. If so, I could not find it. It must've been subtle.

 

[pka]

It looks OK. to me: \(\displaystyle f(x) = x^2\)
\[
f(x) = x^2
\]
What do yoy want?

 

[galactus]

Hey pka:

What I meant was when I type something in LaTex, INSTEAD of what I actually typed this f(x)=x^2 pops up. I don't understand how it posts when I did not actually type that, but something else entirely different. It doesn't do it all the time. Just once in a while. I thought maybe it was an error message of some sort.