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Abstract
How you say something is often as important as what you say. A simple “Good Morning” can confuse even a wizard like Gandalf and this can be no more apparent than in writing mathematics where ambiguity is not tolerated. This explains one reason why LATE X has made such a major impact on mathematics even though it only deals with the syntax of mathematical writing and not its content. The TE X project started by Donald Knuth (1938–) gave mathematicians the tools they needed to be able to write beautifully typeset papers and books that brought to light the semantics of math in a crystal clear format. In this way, syntax precedes semantics.
“Good Morning!” said Bilbo, and he meant it. The sun was shining, and the grass was very green. But Gandalf looked at him from under long bushy eyebrows that stuck out further than the brim of his shady hat.
“What do you mean?” he said. “Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?
“All of them at once,” said Bilbo.
J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
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(Home address), Beverly, MA, USA
Randolph Nelson
- Randolph Nelson
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Nelson, R. (2020). Syntax Precedes Semantics. In: A Brief Journey in Discrete Mathematics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37861-5_3
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