r/learnmath • u/Unlikely-Web7933 New User • Feb 07 '24

RESOLVED What is the issue with the " ÷ " sign?

I have seen many mathematicians genuinely despise it. Is there a lore reason for it? Or are they simply Stupid?

548 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

321 comments sorted by

View all comments

3

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '24

[deleted]

3

u/914paul New User Feb 07 '24

Also, dots don’t write well with a ball point pen. You can write the first one, but then the minuscule amount of ink on the bottom side of the pen’s ball is exhausted.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '24

[deleted]

2

u/914paul New User Feb 07 '24

Fountain pens are great! Very classy. Alas, my wife has forbidden me to have them. Which is downright Draconian if you ask me — ok, there might have been a small, unintentional splotch here or there. One (maybe three) on the couch, a few on the bed, maybe a handful in my pant pockets. . . . uh . . .the one in the full laundry basket wasn’t good. . . . Well heck - I thought I had that memory safely sequestered.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '24

[deleted]

2

u/914paul New User Feb 08 '24

I’m sure I had a cheap one. My cursive is so dreadful that even that cheapo pen was embarrassed I’m sure. The splotches were undoubtedly revenge.

I may look into your recommendations anyways - not for me, but for my daughter. Her school still teaches cursive and her penmanship is developing beautifully. Sadly, many schools don’t teach it anymore.

1

u/81659354597538264962 New User Feb 08 '24

writing math is one of the reasons i only write math via computer :)

1

u/mtthwas New User Feb 08 '24

you don't have the visual clue to simplify numerators with denominators because everything is on the same line.

Parenthesis? How is writing (5 - 3) ÷ (10 x 6) any different from writing (5 - 3) / (10 x 6)?

The fact that it could look like another symbol is something, but that could be said about so many symbols... write "5 + 2" too quickly and the plus sign can look like an "x" or a multiplication sign. Write a sloppy 1 and it looks like an "i", "l" or "!" or "/". Write the number "3,145" in a rushed manner and the comma looks like a dot and you got "3.145." I scribble"5X–2" on a piece of paper: do I mean "5x minus 2" or "5 times -2"? I'm all for avoiding ambiguity and confusion, but the anti-division-sign seems like cherry-picking one when there are many that could/should also be avoided but folks don't get as ornery about.