Re:Legible Mathematics: Sketches of interactive arithmetic f...
by Grustaf on Monday February 24, 2020 @02:32PM
(#22407527)
The only people I’ve ever heard having problems with math notation (as opposed to math concepts, which are often extremely abstract) are computer scientist and computer people in general. I think what irritates them is the fluidity and flexibility of most math notation. It’s not really machine readable since it really assumes you know what you’re doing. The same string of symbols can mean vastly different things in different contexts, which is precisely the power of math notation. Brevity is actually a goal in itself, it makes it possible to keep even larger constructions in your mind at the same time.
Consider einteinian notation, with implicit summation. Very terse, and very powerful when you know what you’re doing.
I’m sure CS notation is great for CS but trust me, math notation is pretty damn near optimal for math. Second only to theoretical physicists, mathematicians are probably the smartest of scientists.
Consider einteinian notation, with implicit summation. Very terse, and very powerful when you know what you’re doing.
I’m sure CS notation is great for CS but trust me, math notation is pretty damn near optimal for math. Second only to theoretical physicists, mathematicians are probably the smartest of scientists.