I should not be required to submit homework in TeX. Word or handwriting is fine.
The reason is simple. Word is easy to use. Whether you're a baby boomer who grew up in a world where televisions and electric typewriters were cutting-edge technology or a baby zoomer who just figured out how to wipe their own ass but haven't figured out what gender they want to be, Word is easy to use for most basic things. And let's face it, the vast majority of the world isn't a comp-sci nerd nor do they have to so basic word processing is all do or even need.
Ridiculous UNIX evangelists or whatever the fuck they want to call themselves just can't comprehend the fact that learning and memorizing is completely unnecessary for this use case. When they can stop stroking their egos and unify behind getting a completely functional idiot-proof point and click system that doesn't need constant babysitting shipped, then they might finally see wide support for LaTeX.
It takes a tremendous amount of command-line bullshittery and arcane escape codes to install, set up, and configure TeX and write up a basic problem set.
Mathematicians should strive to remove such extra-mathematical complexity for students, so that they can focus on the intrinsic complexity of their research or studies. To require students to learn TeX to to their math homework is to stupidly miss out on students with great potential who just haven't been exposed to UNIX.
Why are we ignoring decades of advances in modern word processors to use something that simply lets you type in plain text without any pretty pictures or formatting unless you use complicated escaped codes and compile it?!? There's not even a spell checker. (Sure there is ... just activate M-x Alt Ctrl-J Esc qq ::spell-check mode!) Also I have yet to see a mathematician sucessfully use git or other version control to collaborate -- they usually just email TeX files back and forth. If they were using Word they could use Track Changes.
The reason is simple. Word is easy to use. Whether you're a baby boomer who grew up in a world where televisions and electric typewriters were cutting-edge technology or a baby zoomer who just figured out how to wipe their own ass but haven't figured out what gender they want to be, Word is easy to use for most basic things. And let's face it, the vast majority of the world isn't a comp-sci nerd nor do they have to so basic word processing is all do or even need.
Ridiculous UNIX evangelists or whatever the fuck they want to call themselves just can't comprehend the fact that learning and memorizing is completely unnecessary for this use case. When they can stop stroking their egos and unify behind getting a completely functional idiot-proof point and click system that doesn't need constant babysitting shipped, then they might finally see wide support for LaTeX.
It takes a tremendous amount of command-line bullshittery and arcane escape codes to install, set up, and configure TeX and write up a basic problem set.
Mathematicians should strive to remove such extra-mathematical complexity for students, so that they can focus on the intrinsic complexity of their research or studies. To require students to learn TeX to to their math homework is to stupidly miss out on students with great potential who just haven't been exposed to UNIX.
Why are we ignoring decades of advances in modern word processors to use something that simply lets you type in plain text without any pretty pictures or formatting unless you use complicated escaped codes and compile it?!? There's not even a spell checker. (Sure there is ... just activate M-x Alt Ctrl-J Esc qq ::spell-check mode!) Also I have yet to see a mathematician sucessfully use git or other version control to collaborate -- they usually just email TeX files back and forth. If they were using Word they could use Track Changes.
