Upside down E was Re: Mathematical Symbols

[paulzjoh]

Isn't there a famous news wire sent about Einstein's theory of general
relativity where the reporter used "cable English" to describe the theory
for publication?
Should be in the NYT files.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Barbara Need" <nee1 at MIDWAY.UCHICAGO.EDU>
To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sent: Wednesday, February 19, 2003 9:42 PM
Subject: Upside down E was Re: Mathematical Symbols


> >Sounds good.  The standard folk etymology (the one I'd always
> >accepted) for the upside-down E is that it designates "Exists", a
> >better translation than "Some" for the (appropriately named)
> >existential quantifier.  (I think of it as an upside-down rather than
> >backward E since only the former story provides a parallel with the
> >universal.)  And the upside-down A for the universal quantifier
> >stands for "All", as Jim notes.  The fact that the latter involves an
> >English word ("All") supports the idea that the former should as well
> >("Exists"), but evidently such is not the case.
> >
> >Larry
>
> My first thought was: wouldn't an upside down E be identical to a
> right-side up E? But then I thought, when you look at someone's
> writing "upside down" it is the reversed E, because the writing is
> also right to left FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE. But when I turn something
> upside down, I usually only rotate on a horizontal axis, not also on
> the vertical one. Is this the usual sense of turn something upside
> down?
>
> Barbara Need
> UChicago--Linguistics
>