mcdonald@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu (05/16/89)
I was just looking over some TeX stuff I have done and noticed
that, to my eyes, such constructs as {\em which appear at angles
between $\theta$ and $\theta + d\theta$} look very odd because
the "+" signs come out Roman (unslanted). I tried changing them
to slanted ones ($\theta$ {\it +} $\theta$) and to my eyes it looks
more normal. What do the cognoscenti out there think of this?
Doug McDonald (mcdonald@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu)gae@sphere.mast.ohio-state.edu (Gerald Edgar) (05/17/89)
In article <47700053@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu> mcdonald@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu writes: > >to slanted ones ($\theta$ {\it +} $\theta$) and to my eyes it looks >more normal. What do the cognoscenti out there think of this? REAL math books do not use slanted + signs. Of course, with TeX, you can do whatever you want. But I think you should do things as much like everyone else as possible, or the reader will be distracted. -- Gerald A. Edgar Department of Mathematics TS1871@OHSTVMA.bitnet The Ohio State University gae@sphere.mast.ohio-state.edu Columbus, OH 43210 ...!{att,pyramid}!osu-cis!sphere.mast.ohio-state.edu!gae
bts@sas.UUCP (Brian T. Schellenberger) (05/26/89)
In article <566@sphere.mast.ohio-state.edu> gae@sphere.UUCP (Gerald Edgar) writes: |In article <47700053@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu> mcdonald@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu writes: |> |>to slanted ones ($\theta$ {\it +} $\theta$) and to my eyes it looks |>more normal. What do the cognoscenti out there think of this? | |REAL math books do not use slanted + signs. Of course, with TeX, |you can do whatever you want. But I think you should do things as |much like everyone else as possible, or the reader will be distracted. Well, certainly you shouldn't slant the + just because the math fonts are slanted (that would be really odd), but are you certain about the conventions when the entire math formula is logically part of slanted text? I'm not sure that I've ever seen such a thing myself, so I wouldn't know either way. Not meaning to question you, I'm just wondering if you've actually seen the situation described. In any case, why is the original poster slanting so much text that it includes a formula? Generally, slanted text should be kept to a bar minimum, methinks. More than one word tends to look busy fairly quickly, except in unusual situations. Just my 2\cents worth . . . -- -- Brian, the Man from Babble-on. ...!mcnc!rti!sas!bts -- "Every jumbled pile of person has a thinking part that wonders what the part that isn't thinking isn't thinking of" -- THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS
horne-scott@CS.YALE.EDU (Scott Horne) (05/27/89)
In article <1055@sas.UUCP> bts@sas.UUCP (Brian T. Schellenberger) writes: >In article <566@sphere.mast.ohio-state.edu> gae@sphere.UUCP (Gerald Edgar) writes: >|In article <47700053@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu> mcdonald@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu writes: >|> >|>to slanted ones ($\theta$ {\it +} $\theta$) and to my eyes it looks >|>more normal. What do the cognoscenti out there think of this? See below. :-) >|REAL math books do not use slanted + signs. Of course, with TeX, >|you can do whatever you want. But I think you should do things as >|much like everyone else as possible, or the reader will be distracted. I agree. >Well, certainly you shouldn't slant the + just because the math fonts are >slanted (that would be really odd), but are you certain about the conventions >when the entire math formula is logically part of slanted text? I'm not sure >that I've ever seen such a thing myself, so I wouldn't know either way. I am. The plus sign should *not* be slanted. Nor should any other symbols be (unless they regularly are in math formulae, such as letters--by the way, please note that the math fonts are not ``slanted''). You won't go wrong if you type formulae this way: \proclaim Horne's Theorem. For any even number~$x$ greater than~$4$, there exist prime numbers $y$~and~$z$ such that $x=y+z$. The plus sign will appear unslanted, as it should. (Incidentally, Horne's Theorem is often incorrectly called Goldbach's Conjecture. :-) ) >In any case, why is the original poster slanting so much text that it >includes a formula? Generally, slanted text should be kept to a bar >minimum, methinks. Yethinks correctly. :-) However, it is a standard practice to print statements of theorems (as well as lemmas, corollaries, conjectures, &c) in slanted type, with the formulae set as usual. (Note, though, that proofs of theorems should not be set slanted.) >More than one word tends to look busy fairly quickly, >except in unusual situations. Yes. However, in this ``unusual situation'', slanted type helps to set off the theorem from the text. >Just my 2\cents worth . . . Naaaah, I'd say at least a nickel. . . . :-) --Scott horne-scott@cs.Yale.edu ...!{harvard,cmcl2,decvax}!yale!horne-scott 203 789-0877 Box 7196 Yale Station, New Haven, CT 06520 Summer address: 175 Dwight St, New Haven, CT I wish I *could* represent Yale, but Benno Schmidt won't let me....