Sloppy Language, Sloppy Thinking: Don’t Try This at Home

As a mathematician, I’ve been trained to write and speak (and, consequently, to think) using precise, accurate terminology.  There are, of course, occasions when even mathematicians abbreviate the things that they write or say, but on those occasions: We know that we’re abbreviating, and All mathematicians have agreed to the abbreviations used. As an educator, […]