Asterisks are not Sexy

[DrD]

Quote:It is not at odds at all, point 5.1 refers to units, not to numbers.
Between units, numbers and units, letters, numbers and letters, parenthesis, fractions,... you can use the space or cdot.
Between two numbers space and cdot can be confusing so you should use the cross symbol as
5 6 is not clear (could be interpreted as 56) and
5 cdot 6 could be interpreted as 5.6

See point 5.3.6 for exemples.

So, it's not about being consistent with the multiplication sign, (number X number), but if it's number and literally anything else, use whatever is handy? I vote for the asterisk as a consistent multiplication sign. No implication, no cdot, no cross, no confusion. Just because it came a little late in the game, isn't good reason to ditch it and blame.

There's a lot of technicality to music notation, too; but in similar fashion, whatever makes music notationally easier to read, makes it easier to perform. If you see the asterisk as bad form, why not just accept it as a rehearsal mark, and honor diversity? It's not the only math symbol that raises question, the inverted triangle (nabla) is, perhaps, a less notable example. Don't ask me for the final say, though. I have trouble reading Einstein's blackboard, and I barely made it through physics class, due to the prof's penmanship issues ...

-Dale-

-Dale-