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> math is not about notation anyway Well, yes and no. It's true that notation is a tool and not the actual object of interest (except when it's both), but some
by consilient 3y ago
> math is not about notation anyway
Well, yes and no. It's true that notation is a tool and not the actual object of interest (except when it's both), but some tools are much, much better for certain tasks than others.
Imagine, for instance, trying to teach someone about databases and having them demand that you translate everything into x86 assembly first, since that's what they're comfortable with. Once you get past the basics, this is the level of mismatch we're talking about.
- okaleniuk 3y agoI agree on yes and no. If notation mattered little, there would not be that many different notations. Leibniz and Lagrange notations for derivatives, Einstein abbreviation for sums, Iverson notation for tensors that later became APL, or any language for any computer algebra system ever. If notation mattered little, inventing your own notation would matter little too. But if notation mattered a lot then... there would not be that many different notations either. There would be one and only notation that works and no one would dare to divert from it. Math notation is a cultural artifact with its own significance pretty much like SQL or x86 assembly language indeed.