How do I know what all the math symbols mean?

How do I know the difference between my := and =, and my = and the one with 3 bars instead of 2, and my ~ with the ones that have two squiggly lines?

Question

How do I know what all the math symbols mean?

How do I know the difference between my := and =, and my = and the one with 3 bars instead of 2, and my ~ with the ones that have two squiggly lines?

amistre64 · Answer

or how about the ones that are user defined?

amistre64 · Answer

|dw:1317931500135:dw|
i believe descartes used this one for "equals"

anonymous · Answer

user defined? I thought those were all standardized by the international union of laboring mathematicians, like all those chemistry IUPAC stuff, or Systeme internationale, or medicine

amistre64 · Answer

nope, there are tons of notations that only have meaning as applied by the person using it.

amistre64 · Answer

Dy, y', dy/dx, etc ....

anonymous · Answer

union of laboring mathematicians ???    lol

amistre64 · Answer

the important thing is that in order to communicate the information between 2 or more peoples; there has to be an agreement on what the symbls represent

anonymous · Answer

so that's why the lambda symbol has like 10 different meanings? but what about things that have a universal meaning like, e, i, or pi?

amistre64 · Answer

those are not universal either; they are just more widespread than others

amistre64 · Answer

show our pi to a martian and see if it recognizes it :)

anonymous · Answer

i wonder if theres an arabic version of pi?? maybe

anonymous · Answer

I thought all those things I learned about geometry in high school, like CPCTC and SAS, and the way things were proved, was the way modern, professional mathematicians did it...

amistre64 · Answer

wouldnt that be nice.

anonymous · Answer

so I can let $ be the integration operator, ! be the differentiation operator, and then have my tests look like I'm swearing at the professor?

amistre64 · Answer

You can if that is what you and your professor agree on as the operators.

anonymous · Answer

:-( and my professor writes $$\lim$$in a very different way

amistre64 · Answer

Math is akin to any other language, the written is spose to be a way of communicating the concepts and ideals.

amistre64 · Answer

And communication is only as good as those who can agree on definitions

anonymous · Answer

what if people ask me to write a polynomial in 'standard form'?

amistre64 · Answer

then you find the best way to define what a "standard form" is :)

is it vertex form or exapanded form?

anonymous · Answer

I don't know. Wikipedia says the standard form is $$Ax+By = C$$and other sources may say the standard form of a polynomial is $$Ax+By+C$$

amistre64 · Answer

and still others say its standard form to write it: y = mx+b

amistre64 · Answer

Ax+By -C = 0, might be a better standard form