This trend of trying to force the diverse and thriving species of computer languages to follow in every detail the invented language of mathematicians in syntax and semantics comes off as authoritarian. It is a mistake and one that will be seen as such in time.<br><br>Perhaps the reason computer language are so diverse boils down to different language designers thinking about logic in different ways.<br><br>Mathematics too reduces down to logic, why do we not force, cajole or otherwise emotionally coerce mathematicians to write all their thoughts out not as the higher level mathematical symbols they have grown to love, but rather using the underlying language of logical symbols and the cognitive processes they represent which actually hold mathematics up like pillars from a foundation.<br><br>Who is a mathematician to desire autonomy from the language of logicians?<br><br>We can play this game for years. It is an unproductive one.<br><br>If someone or a community of someones enjoy language X and are productively creating things in language X then it is wrongheaded to go chastising them for ‘incorrect-think’.<br><br>God forbid people use == for equality and = for assignment, if one only ever sees mathematical assignment := in graduate school then think about how much ivory tower or faded bargain basement cinderblock tower stairs must be climbed before one is exposed to the mathematical assignment operator.<br><br>Do people begin learning the language of reasoning at 22? Or do they begin a decade or more earlier? It utterly wrong to keep aspects of a language inaccessible (k-12 I’m looking at you) to people for a decade and then tell computer programmers “oh hey, yeah we actually have an assignment operator, you have to listen to us now”.<br><br>Sorry, No! If you want your symbol to be used, you have to follow the same rules as any other meme, get it into the vernacular and common usage and get it used by many many people.<br><br>I suspect this operator was not taught in K-13 because mathematicians don’t want people assigning values to things. That’s for them you see, not you.<br><br>Nothing new under the sun.