Maybe = should actually be := which it is in some languages? x = x + 1 sounds wrong if you are in math mode x := x + 1 is uncommon in math and you can take it

Maybe = should actually be := which it is in some languages? x = x + 1 sounds wrong if you are in math mode x := x + 1 is uncommon in math and you can take it to mean "set x to whatever is currently x, plus one" But it's also true that you need to be able to accept certain conventions when changing fields.