Am 13.11.2010 12:49, schrieb Christian Schmidt:
I wasn't aware about this issue. In normal text mode, italic and bold
font selections work complementary... so I expected the same behavior in
math mode too. I can't really understand these differing approaches.
Maybe, I am too bold answering, but I try nevertheless:
Different fonts resp. font styles are not used as emphasis or stylistic
features in math mode. They carry semantic meaning. A bold N is
something totally different from a regular N which is something totally
different from a curly N which is something totally different from
fraktur N. (These meanings may depend on context but in each context
they are different. An example:
regular N: some (probably natural) number [e.g. absolute frequency or
sample count]
bold N: a matrix named N
curly N: the kernel function of matrices
fraktur N / double struck N: set of natural numbers
)
So when I type \mathbf{N} I usually refer to a matrix named N, because a
bold italic N might have some different meaning. (Though bold italics
aren't used often.)
Math isn't always typed in italics. The meaning shouldn't depend on the
stylistic circumstances. \mathbf{N} should have the same meaning in each
context. So \mathbf{N} should always yield a bold non-italic N,
regardless of the style of regular math.
bye
Toscho
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