Typography + Science = Scientography

There are numerous "new" phenomena that weren't around when most of the commonly accepted graphic symbols used in the scientific community were generated and accepted, many of which are based on Greek letters. (pi being the most obvious example)

We now have black holes; gravitons; gluons; parsecs; dark matter - the list is long, and applies to all disciplines.

What is clearly needed is the creation of a series of new universally agreed graphically orientated symbols, under the collective name of Scientography. These would be organised like typefaces with accepted standards and conventions for size, spacing, upper and lower case versions. The next stage would be the generation of digital font sets to enable the new symbols to be inserted in sentence construction.
-- xenzag, Apr 15 2018

Semasiography https://en.wikipedi.../wiki/Semasiography
The quality of a language that it only exists in writing and has no spoken form [notexactly, Apr 15 2018]

Scientific Symbols Prior art that just happened to have its most recent activity just over exactly ten years ago [notexactly, Apr 16 2018]

Submit new unicode symbols http://unicode.org/pending/proposals.html
Make up some new symbols, publish them in a journal, and get them into unicode! [beanangel, Apr 16 2018]

White-o-glyphics http://users.erols....e28/hiero/index.htm
The purpose of this language is to study symbolism, metaphor and etymology, and to draw little pictures. I'm just trying to see how far I can go using only pre- established symbols, without inventing signs out of whole cloth. I don't expect anyone to actually use it. [eritain, Apr 19 2018]

Meaning? I'm surprised that you see no meaning in maths. You may not understand the symbols, but that does not remove their meaning, only your comprehension of that meaning. You could apply the same logic to musical notation and see where it takes you. i.e. like all languages, it's an abstraction with a set of rules that fit together and make sense when applied in certain circumstances.
-- xenzag, Apr 15 2018


I'm very relieved that this is not a combination of graphology with scientology.

Meanwhile, [Ian], you might like to try reading some translations of Ancient Greek maths. If the bits of it I remember from Plato are anything to go by, it was all done with words, not symbols.
-- pertinax, Apr 15 2018


So, [Ian], what symbols would you use to allow the concept of "equals" to be expressed both concisely and in such a way that no prior knowledge is needed?

I think maths actually does rather well. Compare its symbology to that of music, which is just so perverse that all kinds of extra arcane squiggles have to be added to express things like "that note that's just above C, only the one at the top end, and not actually C as such but the one between C and the next D that we don't have a name for, and by the way it should be quite long and fairly loud."
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Apr 15 2018


So what Ian is saying is that they should have done common core math a long time ago.

The poo emoji should be reserved for the imaginary unit.
-- RayfordSteele, Apr 15 2018


Don't make new fonts. Just add the new characters to Unicode.

// maths […] none of it can be pronounced. //

Math is semi-semasiographic: [link]
-- notexactly, Apr 15 2018


Make up some new symbols, publish them in a journal, and get them into unicode!

Create new symbols at the unicode consortium at [link]

Suggestion:

quantum entangled particles: double smiley face alternate usage: almost guaranteed.
-- beanangel, Apr 16 2018



random, halfbakery