4 ms·
Older computers put the text in a grid, and uppercase letters are designed to be read monospaced.
by hyperhello 3y ago
Older computers put the text in a grid, and uppercase letters are designed to be read monospaced.
- ithkuil 3y agoI don't think that's true. Uppercase I was narrower also on roman inscriptions. Just look at any inscription on old monument walls written in Roman capitals.
- thaumasiotes 3y agoAt least he didn't say that the Romans used V instead of U because their letters had to consist of straight lines. For some reason, that "factoid" is Out There.
- ithkuil 3y agoYeah. I think part of that factoid stems from some modern "ancient looking" Greek scripts used on souvenirs that use angular versions of capital Greek letters. Some of those glyph variations were used but rarely in that precise mixture that maximizes the angularity look, which seems to have been chosen in modern times to represent "antiquity" Here's a good table of the many varieties of the early Greek alphabet: https://mnamon.sns.it/index.php?page=Simboli&id=12&lang=en https://mnamon.sns.it/index.php?page=Simboli&id=12&lang=en The latin script derives from the Etruscan script which in turn stems from some of the variety of the early Greek scripts (I forgot which one). An interesting fact is that the Roman cursive script retained many of the archaic properties of the original Greek script it originates, while the capital letters have been subjected to more evolution. In particular note the shape of the Roman cursive "m" (with the long stem on the left) and the "a" without the horizontal line. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_cursive https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_cursive
- schoen 3y agoHere's a nice example. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Res_gestae_Divi_Augusti#/media/File:Res_Gestae.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Res_gestae_Divi_... The Q is lovely (and very wide!).