Quote Originally Posted by mklotz View Post
Mathematicians seldom use 'x' to indicate multiplication because it's easily confused with the letter 'x' often used to denote the unknown in an equation. It is, however, used to indicate the cross product of two vectors.

Other options for multiplication include:

Simple juxtaposition ... ab - most frequently used
A raised dot between the two quantities - can't find a font that has that (also used to indicate the dot product of two vectors)
In coding, an asterisk ... a*b

The obelus (÷) is never used by mathematicians to indicate division. The forward slash (/) is preferred. The backslash (\) is sometimes used to indicate integer division where only the integerial part of the quotient is retained.
Though I have taught mathematics, I have never claimed to be a mathematician. I assure you all of of that! I used the x for multiplication, which on computers is often indicated with an asterisk or *.

What I find interesting about this discussion is that I totally misapprehended the purpose of the test I described. Nor do I have any faintest clue as who originally told me about it.

Bill