That's because mathematicians need notational flexibility, because more formal (unambiguous) syntax would hurt their ability to digest huge chunks of data at on

That's because mathematicians need notational flexibility, because more formal (unambiguous) syntax would hurt their ability to digest huge chunks of data at once. At least that's what I read somewhere in defence of mathematical, cryptic and ambiguous notation. It sounds suspiciously similar to what Lispers say about macros and s-exps, btw ;)