The notation came from trying to write down short polynomials, I think (quadratics, cubics, etc). Which before algebraic notation, was a huge pain in the butt.

The notation came from trying to write down short polynomials, I think (quadratics, cubics, etc). Which before algebraic notation, was a huge pain in the butt. Series notation is just "this is a like a polynomial, but it goes on forever, so here are the first few terms."