4 ms·

I'm doubtful that using Latex for ephemeral stuff like math-heavy homework is a good use case. It's excellent for documents like journal papers and tech report

by mturmon 10y ago

I'm doubtful that using Latex for ephemeral stuff like math-heavy homework is a good use case. It's excellent for documents like journal papers and tech reports that you will be revising and distributing, and perhaps coming back to months later. It's also great for collaboration. I could see it working for a lab report. With mathematical homework, aren't you spending significant time ensuring that what you typed into Latex rendered correctly? (I.e., the edit-compile-look loop?) I sometimes omit parentheses or put braces in the wrong place, which causes the display to be in error. Introducing another step in the process seems troublesome, and would take me out of the "zone" of problem-solving. (I.e., handwritten copy -> Latex -> rendering vs. just handwritten copy.) I switched from troff to Latex around 1991. The explanatory tables for the sprinkler system and the electrical panel for my house are in Latex. So, I'm a Latex-phile, just skeptical about this case.

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brians 10y ago
It makes grading easier, so you get better feedback---and more attention to substance. Every graduate math class I've taken has asked for typeset problem sets; some have required it.
- mturmon 10y ago
  Wow, I am surprised and intrigued! Last time I took a graduate math class was 1995. It was definitely pencil and paper.
sdenton4 10y ago
On the other hand, doing homework with latex means you'll have less cognitive load when using it for 'real' work later on. I would say it's more a good investment than a necessity.
zodiac 10y ago
I use it for homework when I often need to edit my previous work, or so that I can omit the proofs of "obviously true" lemmas the first time round, make sure the whole proof works, then go back and fill them in.
aqsalose 10y ago
>With mathematical homework, aren't you spending significant time ensuring that what you typed into Latex rendered correctly? >[..] >I could see it working for a lab report. I think here is your answer: much depends how much your homework is like a lab report. I have occasionally had courses where the were only a few homework assignments and lecturer expected written answers typeset in LaTeX (or similar). But I wouldn't bother either if I was the only person who would read my written notes.

by mturmon 10y ago

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

brians 10y ago

It makes grading easier, so you get better feedback---and more attention to substance. Every graduate math class I've taken has asked for typeset problem sets; some have required it.

mturmon 10y ago
Wow, I am surprised and intrigued! Last time I took a graduate math class was 1995. It was definitely pencil and paper.

sdenton4 10y ago

On the other hand, doing homework with latex means you'll have less cognitive load when using it for 'real' work later on. I would say it's more a good investment than a necessity.

zodiac 10y ago

I use it for homework when I often need to edit my previous work, or so that I can omit the proofs of "obviously true" lemmas the first time round, make sure the whole proof works, then go back and fill them in.

aqsalose 10y ago

>With mathematical homework, aren't you spending significant time ensuring that what you typed into Latex rendered correctly? >[..] >I could see it working for a lab report. I think here is your answer: much depends how much your homework is like a lab report. I have occasionally had courses where the were only a few homework assignments and lecturer expected written answers typeset in LaTeX (or similar). But I wouldn't bother either if I was the only person who would read my written notes.