[OS X TeX] Semi-OT

[Frederick Hoyt]

I use Latex for the following reasons:

(1) I work in formal linguistics, so I make use of a lot of complex, 
math-like graphic elements which are a nightmare to typeset in Word, 
Nisus, and any other WYSIWYG program;

(2) The output is so easy to read and pleasant to look at;

(3) Numbering and bibliography creation are so easy;

(4) Typesetting phonetic characters (using tipa.sty) is very easy, and 
doesn't require learning an intricate keyboard layout or wasting time 
inserting symbols with from a symbol table;

(5) Format is portable - I can work on my Mac at home, and on the unix 
machines at school without having to worry about whether formatting and 
fonts will transfer;

(6) I find that having gotten the hang of it, Latex is generally a much 
more efficient way to work. This is especially the case since I have 
learned to write my own commands and abbreviations. I take lecture 
notes in latex, including tree diagrams and the like, and faster than I 
would be able to writing long-hand;

(7) It's fun and satisfying;


Fred Hoyt




On Jan 22, 2005, at 9:31 AM, Jason Davies wrote:

> I have been asked to lead a discussion for students and staff about
> presenting documents. I doubt very much that any will be inclined to 
> use
> LaTeX but what would be useful is an overview of why we use it - in
> terms of aesthetics, readability etc (why those large margins? kind of
> thing.) I think the idea is that people may consider applying such
> principles to (presumably) Word documents (eg choice of fonts, width of
> page, number of lines etc).
>
> I realise that this may or may not be of wider interest to the list so 
> I
> also ask that if anyone has strong feelings about it not being
> appropriate, a brief message to the list can steer these to me
> personally. But then again, we might all learn something...!
>
> thanks.
> --------------------- Info ---------------------
> Mac-TeX Website: http://www.esm.psu.edu/mac-tex/
>            & FAQ: http://latex.yauh.de/faq/
> TeX FAQ: http://www.tex.ac.uk/faq
> List Post: <mailto:MacOSX-TeX at email.esm.psu.edu>
>
>
>
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Email is a wonderful thing for people whose role in life is to be on 
top of things. But not for me; my role is to be on the bottom of 
things. What I do takes long hours of studying and uninterruptible 
concentration."

-Donald Knuth

Frederick M. Hoyt
Linguistics Department
University of Texas at Austin


--------------------- Info ---------------------
Mac-TeX Website: http://www.esm.psu.edu/mac-tex/
           & FAQ: http://latex.yauh.de/faq/
TeX FAQ: http://www.tex.ac.uk/faq
List Post: <mailto:MacOSX-TeX at email.esm.psu.edu>