4 ms·

I don’t think anyone disputes that it is possible to typeset documents like this in Microsoft Word, given sufficient effort. But in LaTeX, I can create document

by bradrn 2y ago

I don’t think anyone disputes that it is possible to typeset documents like this in Microsoft Word, given sufficient effort. But in LaTeX, I can create documents which look far better than this with far less work. It’s not simply a matter of ‘disliking mouse-and-click’: LaTeX is designed for high-quality typesetting, in ways which Word is not. (To take just two examples, it enables kerning and ligatures by default.)

behnamoh 2y ago
Kerning and ligatures in Word: Simply CMD+D (fonts) and enable anything you want. My point is the marginal benefit of using Latex to make documents slightly prettier is negligible. The focus of the researcher should be on the content. Don't use Latex for 6 months and see if you still remember all the necessary syntax.
- bradrn 2y ago
  > Simply CMD+D (fonts) and enable anything you want. Like I said, you can do it. That’s why I said ‘by default’: the defaults clearly show how LaTeX is optimised for high-quality typesetting to a greater extent than Word is. > My point is the marginal benefit of using Latex to make documents slightly prettier is negligible. I disagree with this: it’s not just a matter of being ‘slightly prettier’. I will make the claim that, if you care about typography, LaTeX is easier to use than Word. Given the same amount of time and effort, a document created in LaTeX will look better than one made in Word. For instance, take the paper you linked. You mentioned that, in order to create it in Word, you needed to make ‘lots of Word styles’, etc. etc. By contrast, simply retyping the text into a minimal LaTeX document will result in an output which is as good, if not better. I’m not going to bother wrestling with Word styles and whatnot, if I can create a far better-looking document in LaTeX with less effort. > The focus of the researcher should be on the content. And it is, when I use LaTeX. The whole point of LaTeX was always to separate design from content, and I feel it succeeds pretty well in this.
  - behnamoh 2y ago
    > You mentioned that, in order to create it in Word, you needed to make ‘lots of Word styles’, etc. etc. All of that is done just once (one fixed cost). I've been using the template for years now. I think it's a matter of taste as well. I prefer WYSIWYG; Tex users prefer to see this instead: \documentclass{article} \begin{document} \begin{itemize} \item \textbf{TEXT} \begin{itemize} \item TEXT \textit{TEXT} TEXT \item TEXT \textit{TEXT},$\Phi(\lambda$) \textit{TEXT} \end{itemize} \end{itemize} \end{document}
- compsciphd 2y ago
  I was a systems phd, so the amount of math I used in latex, was minimal. In practice, i used very little of latex's features, and what I did, was kept in a small text notes file that I could copy/paste from as needed (i.e. inserting an image / table mostly).

by bradrn 2y ago

behnamoh 2y ago

Kerning and ligatures in Word: Simply CMD+D (fonts) and enable anything you want. My point is the marginal benefit of using Latex to make documents slightly prettier is negligible. The focus of the researcher should be on the content. Don't use Latex for 6 months and see if you still remember all the necessary syntax.

bradrn 2y ago
> Simply CMD+D (fonts) and enable anything you want. Like I said, you can do it. That’s why I said ‘by default’: the defaults clearly show how LaTeX is optimised for high-quality typesetting to a greater extent than Word is. > My point is the marginal benefit of using Latex to make documents slightly prettier is negligible. I disagree with this: it’s not just a matter of being ‘slightly prettier’. I will make the claim that, if you care about typography, LaTeX is easier to use than Word. Given the same amount of time and effort, a document created in LaTeX will look better than one made in Word. For instance, take the paper you linked. You mentioned that, in order to create it in Word, you needed to make ‘lots of Word styles’, etc. etc. By contrast, simply retyping the text into a minimal LaTeX document will result in an output which is as good, if not better. I’m not going to bother wrestling with Word styles and whatnot, if I can create a far better-looking document in LaTeX with less effort. > The focus of the researcher should be on the content. And it is, when I use LaTeX. The whole point of LaTeX was always to separate design from content, and I feel it succeeds pretty well in this.
- behnamoh 2y ago
  > You mentioned that, in order to create it in Word, you needed to make ‘lots of Word styles’, etc. etc. All of that is done just once (one fixed cost). I've been using the template for years now. I think it's a matter of taste as well. I prefer WYSIWYG; Tex users prefer to see this instead: \documentclass{article} \begin{document} \begin{itemize} \item \textbf{TEXT} \begin{itemize} \item TEXT \textit{TEXT} TEXT \item TEXT \textit{TEXT},$\Phi(\lambda$) \textit{TEXT} \end{itemize} \end{itemize} \end{document}
compsciphd 2y ago
I was a systems phd, so the amount of math I used in latex, was minimal. In practice, i used very little of latex's features, and what I did, was kept in a small text notes file that I could copy/paste from as needed (i.e. inserting an image / table mostly).