You&#x27;re right that &quot;it&#x27;s more like math&quot; is a vapid argument by itself. Personally, `star` versus (×) feels like a wash, in particular. Most of the multiplication I&#x27;ve done by hand has been with a dot (•) and not a `star` or (×), anyway.<p>The most compelling case for &quot;looking like math&quot; is when the ASCII representation is clearly imitating something that could be rendered in a more pleasant and smooth manner. Like a plain arrow (-&gt;).<p>&gt; Sticking with the ASCII representation does have one real thing going for it: it visually represents the way you type it.<p>Which is why we should have easy ways to switch between views of code. There might be views which are hard to translate between, but typography seems to be one of the most low-hanging fruit.