Space is significant - Revision history

Christian Lawson-Perfect at 10:15, 4 October 2021

2021-10-04T10:15:39Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:15, 4 October 2021
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	[[Category:Ambiguities]]		[[Category:Ambiguities]]
			[[Category:Handwriting]]

	Empty space is often significant in mathematical notation, but it's easy to misinterpret, and hard to produce accurately.		Empty space is often significant in mathematical notation, but it's easy to misinterpret, and hard to produce accurately.
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	There's some evidence that people learning algebra use the spacing of symbols to deduce rules.<ref>[https://www.jstor.org/stable/30034809 Visual salience of Algebraic Transformations], David Kirshner and Thomas Awtry, Journal for Research in Mathematics Education.</ref>		There's some evidence that people learning algebra use the spacing of symbols to deduce rules.<ref>[https://www.jstor.org/stable/30034809 Visual salience of Algebraic Transformations], David Kirshner and Thomas Awtry, Journal for Research in Mathematics Education.</ref>

			Producing reliable spacing in handwriting is hard.

	==Examples==		==Examples==

Christian Lawson-Perfect: /* Examples */

2021-10-04T08:51:18Z

Examples

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:51, 4 October 2021
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	Statements about a line are usually separated from the main expression by a large space.		Statements about a line are usually separated from the main expression by a large space.

	\[ 4=1 \mod 3 \]		\[ 4 \equiv 1 \mod 3 \]

	versus		versus

	\[ 4=1 \bmod 3\]		\[ 4 \equiv 1 \bmod 3\]

	<hr/>		<hr/>

Christian Lawson-Perfect: /* Examples */

2021-10-04T08:41:00Z

Examples

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:41, 4 October 2021
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	==Examples==		==Examples==

	Entries in a matrix are separated by empty space:		Entries in a matrix are separated by empty space<ref>[https://twitter.com/christianp/status/1444937081915068416 Tweet by Christian Lawson-Perfect]</ref>:

	\[ \begin{pmatrix} 1 & - 2 \\ 3 & - 4 \end{pmatrix} \]		\[ \begin{pmatrix} 1 & - 2 \\ 3 & - 4 \end{pmatrix} \]

Christian Lawson-Perfect at 10:27, 13 September 2021

2021-09-13T10:27:23Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:27, 13 September 2021
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	TeX applies different amounts of spacing around symbols based on context. The ubiquity of TeX means that typeset expressions without this spacing look odd.		TeX applies different amounts of spacing around symbols based on context. The ubiquity of TeX means that typeset expressions without this spacing look odd.

			There's some evidence that people learning algebra use the spacing of symbols to deduce rules.<ref>[https://www.jstor.org/stable/30034809 Visual salience of Algebraic Transformations], David Kirshner and Thomas Awtry, Journal for Research in Mathematics Education.</ref>

	==Examples==		==Examples==
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	\[ \frac{1-3}{2\, 4} \]		\[ \frac{1-3}{2\, 4} \]

			==References==

			<references/>

Christian Lawson-Perfect: Created page with "Category:Ambiguities Empty space is often significant in mathematical notation, but it's easy to misinterpret, and hard to produce accurately. TeX applies different amou..."

2021-07-13T13:44:08Z

Created page with "Category:Ambiguities Empty space is often significant in mathematical notation, but it's easy to misinterpret, and hard to produce accurately. TeX applies different amou..."

New page

[[Category:Ambiguities]]

Empty space is often significant in mathematical notation, but it's easy to misinterpret, and hard to produce accurately.

TeX applies different amounts of spacing around symbols based on context. The ubiquity of TeX means that typeset expressions without this spacing look odd.

==Examples==

Entries in a matrix are separated by empty space:

\[ \begin{pmatrix} 1 & - 2 \\ 3 & - 4 \end{pmatrix} \]

\[ \begin{pmatrix} 1-2 \\ 3 - 4 \end{pmatrix} \]

<hr/>

Statements about a line are usually separated from the main expression by a large space.

\[ 4=1 \mod 3 \]

versus

\[ 4=1 \bmod 3\]

<hr/>

Juxtaposing two fractions:

\[ \frac{1}{2} \frac{-3}{4} \]

\[ \frac{1-3}{2\, 4} \]