Stewart, There's a joke that goes something like this: there are three kinds of people in this world - those that are good at Math and those that are not. Funny thing is that there are at least three ways in which people approach mathematical expressions: 1) Some see a nice, clean, symbolic expression and mentally reject it out of hand (for these people, a "summation symbol" terminates a line of readable text); 2) Some see a symbolic expression, look at it briefly and become (as one person said earlier about figures) convinced they understand it while actually they do not (this can be established by a simple search for published material in which non-sensical mathematical expressions were included without comment in peer reviews); 3) Some people see any symbolic expression and play with it until either they understand it or they know what is wrong with it. In the first two cases - in which, I think we can agree, most people would fall - it is much better to have made the effort to put the expression in "plain English" - however much prettier it would have been in symbolic representation. -- Eric --> -----Original Message----- --> From: ietf-bounces@xxxxxxxx [mailto:ietf-bounces@xxxxxxxx] --> On Behalf Of Stewart Bryant --> Sent: Monday, January 09, 2006 2:22 PM --> To: Bob Braden --> Cc: harald@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; hartmans-ietf@xxxxxxx; --> ietf@xxxxxxxx; sbrim@xxxxxxxxx --> Subject: Re: Normative figures --> --> Bob Braden wrote: --> --> > *> --> > *> Normative figures perhaps. Normative equations definitely. --> > --> >Scott, --> > --> >How about Sections 4.2.3.3 and 4.2.3.4 of RFC 1122 (1889), --> for examples --> >of readable equations in ASCII? I my experience, --> normative protocol --> >technical specifications rarely need equations much more --> complex than --> >these examples. The only significant exception I can --> think of is the --> >NTP spec. --> > --> >People who REALLY use equations generally prefer LaTeX. --> > --> >Bob Braden --> > --> > --> > --> > --> The draft has expired so I need to point to an external --> version. This draft --> which is looking at the properties of a routing network --> under conditions of --> failure would have been much clearer if it could have used --> mathematical --> notation rather than ASCIIised equations --> --> http://www.faqs.org/ftp/pub/internet-drafts/draft-atlas-ip-l --> ocal-protect-uturn-02.txt --> --> Of course the diagrams could have also been clearer, as is seen by --> comparing them to the ones that Alia used in her presentatons on the --> subject. --> --> - Stewart --> --> --> _______________________________________________ --> Ietf mailing list --> Ietf@xxxxxxxx --> https://www1.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ietf --> _______________________________________________ Ietf@xxxxxxxx https://www1.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ietf