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Re: Binary Relations, draft 1

Hans Aberg wrote --

> 
> One way to extrapolate a general rule form the empiricism in use is the
> rule I gave, and different people seem to arrive at the same or similar
> rule.

But an empicist approach, and Occam's razor, I think would then
suggest to you that Bethold's extrapolation (which is not entirely
empirical) is superior.

> 
> It is not possible to say that this is so or not, because the traditional
> usage is wholly empirical.
> 
> The traditional typographical explanation, or rule, that names such as
> "sin", "cos" should be typeset upright is that these are functions. But
> this does not explain why the "f" in f(x) should be typeset as a variable,
> when it clearly is a function. One also needs to change the rule so that it
> becomes useful in modern mathematics, which does not circulate around
> functions in the same way it did the last century.

No rules, please (at least not generated in this forum).

> 
> But if one wants to have a general rule, this is one might use.

One rule is a s good as another to a drowning ISO committee but, as
you suggest, not useful for mathematics.


chris