Who here writes the prettiest greek letters?

  • Thread starter Nikitin
  • Start date
In summary, the conversation discusses the challenges and frustrations of writing Greek letters, particularly in the fields of mathematics and physics. Some individuals struggle with distinguishing between similar-looking letters, while others find certain letters overused and others rarely used. The conversation also touches on the issue of professors adding unnecessary embellishments to letters, making them even more difficult to write and understand. Overall, the group shares their experiences and opinions on the Greek alphabet and its usage in their respective fields.
  • #1
Nikitin
735
27
So as this forum is frequented by allot of math, engineering, physics etc. folks, I guess you guys love the Greek alphabet?

OK; but who here has possesses the greatest mastery of the Greek alphabet? Who here writes Greek letters in the most cool,spectacular, outrageous (or refined) way? Write down some of your favourite greek letters (or normal letters if your handwriting is extraordinary) using your normal handwriting, take a picture with your camera (phone camera or webcam should be easy enough) and post it here.

I'll start:

https://scontent-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t31.0-8/p180x540/1980200_10202688563671894_451657684_o.jpg

(small beta, small pi, large psi, small gamma and small epsilon).
 
Last edited:
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #3
I love your small gamma, but your small pi looks like an abortion.
 
  • #4
1MileCrash said:
[...] but your small pi looks like an abortion.
Oh, that was a pi?? I thought it was a tau vomiting. Or, now that you mention it, a tau having a miscarriage. :yuck:

:biggrin:
 
  • #5
Xi is the real challenge. :biggrin:
 
  • #6
drizzle said:
Xi is the real challenge. :biggrin:

012-the-prof-liked-xi.png


498-xi-xi-xi.png
 
Last edited:
  • #7
micromass said:
012-the-prof-liked-xi.png


498-xi-xi-xi.png

Ha, so very true. [itex] \zeta [/itex] is another tough one for me, and [itex] \iota [/itex] strangely too - the rest I'm pretty good at. If there were a convienent way of posting photos I'd share.
 
  • #8
For me it's not that hard, it's similar to the Arabic letter 'ع' just twisted in both ends. :biggrin:
 
  • #9
Every one of my professor has his own way of writing xi, while I have none. that letter is impossible

strangerep said:
Oh, that was a pi?? I thought it was a tau vomiting. Or, now that you mention it, a tau having a miscarriage. :yuck:

:biggrin:

lol thanks guys :p
 
  • #10
##\xi## shows up a lot in GR. I'm not sure how good mine is though. Here's some scrap work for good measure.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0555.jpg
    IMG_0555.jpg
    31.7 KB · Views: 1,149
  • #11
For me it's zeta. Uppercase zeta? No problem: It's just an uppercase Z. Lowercase zeta, ##\zeta##? My handwritten attempts to recreate that look downright ugly.
 
  • #12
WannabeNewton said:
##\xi## shows up a lot in GR. I'm not sure how good mine is though. Here's some scrap work for good measure.

Too many indices!

I should note that almost every non-Greek person writes Greek letters wrong. We are trying to mimic Greek typefaces, but actual Greek handwriting is simpler. Imagine if someone's only exposure to Latin letters was via Times New Roman, and they attempted to mimic all of its details.
 
  • #13
That said, here are my Greek letters:

attachment.php?attachmentid=68004&stc=1&d=1395768558.png
 

Attachments

  • greek.png
    greek.png
    10.3 KB · Views: 22,990
  • #14
My problems so far with the Greek alphabet:

In quantum mechanics, my professor was writing capital psi for a few weeks, and then I find out later he was writing capital and lower case psi's that look nearly identical, so my notes were all messed up.

And I was writing lower case deltas as lower case sigmas for a long time.

Lower case kappa is used in some quantum mechanics equations where lower case k is also used. Genius.

I hate when professors add extra squiggly to some of the letters, making them look indistinguishable. Stop trying to be creative and focus on being understood. It's not about art.

In textbooks, lower case gamma just looks like a lower case y with some extra curve to it. I didn't realize for a while that that was the same symbol as the "support your troops ribbon" symbol my professors were writing.

I hate how some Greek letters get way too much use and show up all the time, making their presence confusing, when other Greek letters get almost no use from what I've seen. For instance capital lambda. Never seen that used.

Rho, representing density, always gives me trouble because it's just a lower case p. I try to stretch it out some, but it always looks sloppy.

I guess that's all for now.
 
  • #15
Overall mine look a lot like Ben's letters.
Except the small rho, I let that curve to the other side at the bottom to distinguish it from a bad written p.
 
  • #16
leroyjenkens said:
My problems so far with the Greek alphabet:

In quantum mechanics, my professor was writing capital psi for a few weeks, and then I find out later he was writing capital and lower case psi's that look nearly identical, so my notes were all messed up.

And I was writing lower case deltas as lower case sigmas for a long time.

Lower case kappa is used in some quantum mechanics equations where lower case k is also used. Genius.

I hate when professors add extra squiggly to some of the letters, making them look indistinguishable. Stop trying to be creative and focus on being understood. It's not about art.

In textbooks, lower case gamma just looks like a lower case y with some extra curve to it. I didn't realize for a while that that was the same symbol as the "support your troops ribbon" symbol my professors were writing.

I hate how some Greek letters get way too much use and show up all the time, making their presence confusing, when other Greek letters get almost no use from what I've seen. For instance capital lambda. Never seen that used.

Rho, representing density, always gives me trouble because it's just a lower case p. I try to stretch it out some, but it always looks sloppy.

I guess that's all for now.

You don't happen to be studying in Trondheim, do you? Because those are my problems with my QM prof exactly :p
 
  • #17
leroyjenkens said:
I hate how some Greek letters get way too much use and show up all the time, making their presence confusing, when other Greek letters get almost no use from what I've seen. For instance capital lambda. Never seen that used.

Rho, representing density, always gives me trouble because it's just a lower case p. I try to stretch it out some, but it always looks sloppy.

I guess that's all for now.

## \Lambda ## is used all the time in particle physics/quantum field theory. Usually to represent a mass scale, like ## \Lambda_{QCD} ##. It is also used for some of the heavier-quark baryons (like a proton), ##\Lambda_s, \Lambda_c, \Lambda_b##.

In my entire physics career I don't believe I've ever written by hand an iota, ##\iota##,## \Iota##
I think uppercase is just an ##I## right? We don't seem to have the command in our LaTex here on the board.
 
  • #19
Hepth said:
In my entire physics career I don't believe I've ever written by hand an iota, ##\iota##,## \Iota##
I think uppercase is just an ##I## right? We don't seem to have the command in our LaTex here on the board.

Lowercase iota is an i without a dot. Upper case Iota is the same as I.

I can understand why Knuth didn't bother to create new symbols for the uppercase Greek letters that are the same as in English, and lowercase omicron which looks like o (his home-made Rube Goldberg system for handling fonts didn't have enough room for them) but my brain isn't big enough to understand why he didn't create macros for the whole Greek alphabet in plain TeX, or why the inventors of LaTeX didn't fill that logical gap.
 
  • #20
Hepth said:
In my entire physics career I don't believe I've ever written by hand an iota, ##\iota##,## \Iota##

Lol, not an Iota, using the phrase.
 
Last edited:
  • #21
I'm self-conscious about my phi because a classmate told me that mine looked like I had drawn an upside down...well, something offensive. Otherwise, enjoy.
 

Attachments

  • 019c308777e2d3260eca520a2a590193339eeec7c2.jpg
    019c308777e2d3260eca520a2a590193339eeec7c2.jpg
    27.9 KB · Views: 1,501
  • #23

What are greek letters?

Greek letters are the letters of the Greek alphabet, which is used in the Greek language and has also been adopted for use in many other languages, including mathematics, science, and engineering.

Why are greek letters used?

Greek letters are used because they have been traditionally used in many fields of study, including mathematics, physics, and astronomy. They also have special meanings and are used to represent specific concepts and variables in these fields.

Who uses greek letters?

Greek letters are used by mathematicians, scientists, and researchers in various fields of study. They are also commonly used in fraternities and sororities.

What is the prettiest greek letter?

Beauty is subjective, so it is difficult to determine the prettiest greek letter. However, some people may consider letters such as alpha, beta, and gamma to be aesthetically pleasing.

Can anyone learn to write greek letters?

Yes, anyone can learn to write greek letters with practice and the right resources. There are many online tutorials and resources available for learning the Greek alphabet and how to write its letters.

Similar threads

  • General Discussion
Replies
29
Views
28K
  • MATLAB, Maple, Mathematica, LaTeX
Replies
7
Views
2K
  • MATLAB, Maple, Mathematica, LaTeX
Replies
9
Views
2K
Back
Top