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Abstract

Mathematics gives solidity to abstract concepts. As for writing in general, there are well-established conventions of presentation for mathematics and mathematical concepts. Reading of mathematics is difficult work at the best of times, unpleasant work if the mathematics is badly presented, and pointless if the mathematics does not make sense.

Mathematics is no more than a symbolism. But it is the only symbolism invented by the human mind steadfastly resists the constant attempts of the mind to shift and smudge the meaning ... Our confidence in any science is roughly proportional to the amount of mathematics it employs—that is, to its ability to formulate its concepts with enough precision to allow them to be handled mathematically.

Jacob Bronowski and Bruce Mazlish

The Western Intellectual Tradition

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References

  1. I’m told that there are 10 kinds of people in the world, those that understand binary and those that don’t. (And how true it is. A reader suggested that “10” be changed to “ten”.)

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© 2004 Springer-Verlag London

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Zobel, J. (2004). Mathematics. In: Writing for Computer Science. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-85729-422-7_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-85729-422-7_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-85233-802-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-85729-422-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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