# the equals operator happens first
(($a, $b) = ('a', 'b')) || die;

# eh, who cares?
($a, $b) = ('a', 'b');

# the || happens first, and enforces
# SCALAR CONTEXT on ('a', 'b'), which
# means it returns the right-most element
($a, $b) = ('a', 'b') || die;