• Why did we learn to write multiplication as x?
    142 replies, posted
In elementary school we first learned to write in block letters. Then we learned cursive and were forced to use cursive on everything. Then in middle school we were forced to use block letters on everything. I know this is probably just my school, but I don't get the point. [editline]20th April 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=Cpn Crunch21;29323062]why are we so obsessed over this? I just use (x) now.[/QUOTE] Yeah making a thread means we are all obsessed.
[QUOTE=JohnnyMo1;29320549]I don't know but x comes back as the cross product so it's even more confusing.[/QUOTE] Since you can only do a cross product with vectors it doesn't really matter. I agree about the x symbol though. I'm almost finished with Calc 3 and I never use x as a multiplier and nobody else does either Nobody uses the division symbol either. It's just stupid and counter productive to teach our youth this outdated syntax. ex how to multiply. When to use nothing: 1.two different variables next to each other xy=z When to use *: 1. when two letters of the same value are next to each other (variable s, and the sin function) and multiplied r*s*sin(theta) 2. Simple calculation 10*5=50 When to use (): 1. Factoring (x-1)(x+1)=x^2+1 Simple calculation with a negative number: 2. 10(-5)=-50 When to use x: NEVER In scientific notation do 1.23E-5
[QUOTE=MountainWatcher;29323457]I still use cursive. :colbert:[/QUOTE] yeah my school forced us to do cursive to the point i write painfully slow in print. hell my print is literally cursive without connecting the letters
TBH I wish I knew cursive or some kind of fancy writing style because my handwriting is atrocious.
I've always learned that when you write something that you want to multiply you use the • sign. All of my teachers in so far 3 different schools have used this and everyone I know uses •. Except for my dad who uses x, probably since it was a good 30 years since he went to school.
[QUOTE=Caesar;29320553]From Wikipedia: "The [B]×[/B] symbol for multiplication was introduced by [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Oughtred"]William Oughtred[/URL] in 1631.[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiplication_sign#cite_note-0"][1][/URL] It was chosen for religious reason to represent the cross.". I guess the dot used sometimes in algebra is a more recent thing, and not as widely used, which is probably why we aren't taught it from primary school. Whenever I write X in algebra, I write it as two "c"s (a normal one a backwards one) to differentiate from multiplication.[/QUOTE] So Jesus invented multiplication?
Everything had to be religious back then.
I don't use cursive as such, we learned somed joined up shit which is basically connected print, without the curviness of cursive.
I write in cursive all the time as I was a terrible printer and did not want to have to relearn how to do something...
I just bracket that shit usually, but usually make them like this: [img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3661087/x.png[/img]
Because those mew mew kitty fucks made me learn cursive so early i couldn't do it since wasting a hour to right a paragraph in pretty squibbles is retarded, my handwriting now looks like i was shot when i wrote it. Also signatures? Nigga please writing a actual signature irl looks like half cursive and then random curves and lines.
I just thought about it and I still use x in scientific notation, but that is it. like 4.00x10^2
I mix Cursive and Block together to make something that's supposed to be handwriting.
[img]http://gyazo.com/6e6d2a2d8cf3f185b2c75d744201355c.png[/img] Maybe thats why I type. That isn't much worse than my pen writing. But printing takes forever so I just used cursive since i learned it. Also you still use x in Chem ie 6.02x10^23 so not that useless.
I switched back to cursive this year after using regular print in middle school/early highschool, imo it's faster.
[QUOTE=MountainWatcher;29323972]I never got why people stopped using cursive. I paid attention to class, so I remember thinking that maybe I didn't recieve a letter r something. I still prefer cursive all the way. Damn classy.[/QUOTE] It is considerably more difficult to read in many cases. This is why forms are almost universally required to be filled out in standard print.
In normal math I use x, but when I variable is involved I just use *.
As to not confuse the multiplication x with the letter x or any other mathematical symbol I simply rotate it 45 degrees.
[QUOTE=JohnnyMo1;29320635]xxx is that x^2 or x^3? You tell me. [editline]20th April 2011[/editline] If you said either, YOU ARE WRONG. It is a bad movie starring Vin Diesel.[/QUOTE] That's x^3. AW DAMN I DIDN'T READ. I should have known.
I've never seen anyone do the )( parentheses x. Just a while after I started learning variables I switched to the dot. It's much easier. If I'm doing it on a computer, and I have no dot to quickly bring up, I just use parentheses. e.g. 2xx3x would be (2x)(3x). Or an asterisk, 2x*3x.
I have never, ever written multiplication as x.
[QUOTE=Caesar;29320553] Whenever I write X in algebra, I write it as two "c"s (a normal one a backwards one) to differentiate from multiplication.[/QUOTE] But that´s how I learned to write a x! (Btw, an or a in this sentence? an sounds better...) Just like I learned to write capitel H as a J and a L (In a certain writing style, looks better than it sounds)
The only time I have ever had to use cursive in my life was to copy that statement at the end of the SAT. I can honestly say that was the hardest part of the exam.
I think that the x is pointless, but the div symbol makes sense, as much sense as / does.
In Scotland we still use 'x' in high school for multiplication, even if the variable 'x' is involved.
In Estonia it's 3 • 9 (three times nine) and 3 : 9 (divided)
[QUOTE=Rapist;29331191]3 : 9 (divided)[/QUOTE] I suppose using the ratio symbol is fine for stuff like that but in most cases / is less likely to cause confusion
When I write x as a variable I write as a cursive x, when its multiplication I write it in print form.
i was never taught different from x as multiplication, they made as write the letter x with funny curves on it to differentiate [editline]21st April 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=Earthen;29331685]When I write x as a variable I write as a cursive x, when its multiplication I write it in print form.[/QUOTE] this basically
I live in Finland too, but i have never been teached to use the x. And i still use cursive.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.