No. If a is a scalar, which it clearly is, it’s all multiplication. And there is no reason to use any of the first three. We say “three apples”, not “three x apples”.
The irony is that this meme works in reverse for that. At least, in order of mind blowing as I refreshed my memory, it goes multiplication (very easy), dot (scalars easy), cross (vectors medium) and convolution (integrals hard).
In fact, I never did the later two but convolution looks fun.
Yes (actually \ast though?), but unless you’re a maniac in LaTeX latin letters referring to variables in a math environment are cursive (actually a math font I think). Therefore if I am reading a single sentence that may or may not have been made using TeX I tend towards not if variables are in a standard font.
What they actually see:
No. If a is a scalar, which it clearly is, it’s all multiplication. And there is no reason to use any of the first three. We say “three apples”, not “three x apples”.
hurr durr maybe its a single dimensional vector?
The irony is that this meme works in reverse for that. At least, in order of mind blowing as I refreshed my memory, it goes multiplication (very easy), dot (scalars easy), cross (vectors medium) and convolution (integrals hard).
In fact, I never did the later two but convolution looks fun.
I see multiplication in code, Cartesian product, multiplication, multiplication.
I might not count as a mathematician though. If the * was supposed to be convolution the a should have been cursive.
In latex if you are using * you better mean convolution
Yes (actually
\astthough?), but unless you’re a maniac in LaTeX latin letters referring to variables in a math environment are cursive (actually a math font I think). Therefore if I am reading a single sentence that may or may not have been made using TeX I tend towards not if variables are in a standard font.