Unicode function name? ∩

[Illuminati via Digitalmars-d-learn]

On Tuesday, 6 September 2016 at 13:41:22 UTC, Jesper Tholstrup 
wrote:
> On Tuesday, 6 September 2016 at 02:22:50 UTC, Illuminati wrote:
>> It's concise and has a very specific meaning.
>
> Well, only if we can agree on what the symbols mean. I'm not 
> sure that every symbol is concise and specific across the 
> fields of mathematics, statistics, and physics.
>
> The worst part, however, is our (humans, that is) intrinsic 
> desire to be "clever". There will be an endless incorrect use 
> of symbols, which will render code very difficult to understand 
> Friday afternoon when things break.

Symbols are inherently meaningless so you are not making sense. 
Clever is what got humans out the jungle, I think it is a good 
thing. No need to denigrate it when you benefit from people being 
clever. Of course, you could argue that staying in the jungle 
would have been the best thing...

>> The whole point of symbols is to simplify, ∩ is more simple 
>> than intersect as the first requires 1 symbol and the second 
>> requires 8 symbols.
>
> I don't buy that argument - fewer symbols is better? If so 
> disagree, its a lot easier to make and a lot harder to catch a 
> ∩ vs ∪ error compared to 'intersect()' vs 'union()' error.
>
>
> How is Unicode normalization handled? It is my impression that 
> certain symbols can be represented in more than one way. I 
> could be wrong...

Mathematicians don't seem to get confused by symbols. intersect 
is a symbol. It is no different than ∩ or any other symbol. It is 
just chicken scratch. There is no inherent meaning in the wavy 
lines. If you think there is then you are deluding yourself. You 
have simply memorized what those groups of symbols mean and you 
are too lazy to memorize what some other symbol means. Once you 
realize the game you are playing with yourself then it becomes 
easier to break the bad habit and not get caught up in the 
nonsense.

The reason why ∩ is better than intersect is because it is 
quicker to see and analyze(due to its "size"). True, it is more 
ambiguous, as ambiguity depends on size, but at least in this 
case it has been well established just as π and 1,2,3..., etc. 
But if you are so concerned about ambiguity then why not 
intersectsetofarithmeticintegerswithsetofarithmeticintegers? That 
is far less ambiguous than intersect.

My point is, you are playing games. You might not realize it but 
that is what is going on. If you want to be truthful, it is 
better to say "I prefer to use my own personal standardized 
notation that I have already learned since it takes precious time 
away from my own life.". When do you this, I cannot argue with 
you, but then you also have to accept that you cannot argue with 
me(or anyone else). Because what makes sense or works for you 
might not work for me or someone else.

Your argument is exactly analogous to "I don't speak french! Use 
English you stupid french speaking person, french is for idiots 
anyways". The tone is irrelevant, the point is acting like one 
superficial system is better than some other superficial system 
simply because of perspective/laziness/arrogance/etc. The only 
issues are that either you are failing to see the systems as 
superficial or you are failing to see that your own personal 
center of the universe is not actually the center of the universe.

So just be real. The reason you don't like it is because it 
confuses you. If it didn't, you wouldn't have a problem with it. 
If you could speak French and English then you, if you were that 
hypothetical person, wouldn't care what language was used.  All I 
can say is that everyone is confused until they learn something. 
But don't confuse your confusion with some innate scale of 
better/worse, it only leads to more confusion. The solution to 
all confusion is familiarity. Become familiar with your 
confusion(e.g., using ∩) and it won't be confusing anymore.

The reason the mathematical symbols don't phase me is because I 
spent years using them. In my mind ∩ = intersection of sets(which 
I have a non-verbal meaning in my own mind on what that means). I 
see no difference between ∩ and intersect. Hence I am not 
confused. If someone comes along and uses ∩ to mean what I call 
union. Then it won't confuse me either. Because I realize they 
have just relabeled stuff. Sure I have to keep track, but as long 
as they are logical(consistent) then I'll get used to(familiar) 
with their system and it won't be a problem. I won't get angry or 
upset that they are trying to pull the rug out from underneath 
me. I'll realize that they just speak French and if I want to 
communicate with them I'll learn French. No big deal, I'll be 
more enlightened from doing so. Sure it takes some time, but what 
else do we humans have to do? Everything we do just superficial 
anyways.