Symbol for Unknown

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I was just wondering whether there were any other letters or symbols used to denote something unknown other than the letter, X.

It's just I'm designing a character, but the name Copy X has already been taken.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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symbols for unknowns

You can see the symbols, etc., on the URL below.

http://members.aol.com/jeff570/variables.html

. . .

[quote] Descartes' use of z, y, x. The following is from Cajori (vol 1, page 381):

The use of z, y, x . . . to represent unknowns is due to René Descartes, in his La géometrie (1637). Without comment, he introduces the use of the first letters of the alphabet to signify known quantities and the use of the last letters to signify unknown quantities. His own langauge is: "...l'autre, LN, est (1/2)a la moitié de l'autre quantité connue, qui estoit multipliée par z, que ie suppose estre la ligne inconnue." Again: "...ie considere ... Que le segment de la ligne AB, qui est entre les poins A et B, soit nommé x, et quie BC soit nommé y; ... la proportion qui est entre les costés AB et BR est aussy donnée, et ie la pose comme de z a b; de façon qu' AB estant x, RB sera bx/z, et la toute CR sera y = bx/z. ..." Later he says: "et pour ce que CB et BA sont deux quantités indeterminées et inconnuës, ie les nomme, l'une y; et l'autre x. Mais, affin de trouver le rapport de l'une a l'autre, ie considere aussy les quantités connuës qui determinent la description de cete ligne courbe: comme GA que je nomme a, KL que je nomme b, et NL, parallele a GA, que ie nomme C." As co-ordinates he uses later only x and y. In equations, in the third book of the Géométrie, x predominates. In manuscripts written in the interval 1629-40, the unknown z occurs only once. In the other places x and y occur. In a paper on Cartesian ovals, prepared before 1629, x alone occurs as unknown, y being used as a parameter. This is the earliest place in which Descartes used one of the last letters of the alphabet to represent an unknown. A little later he used x, y, z again as known quantities.

Some historical writers have focused their attention upon the x, disregarding the y and z, and the other changes in notation made by Descartes; these wrtiers have endeavored to connect this x with older symbols or with Arabic words. Thus, J. Tropfke, P. Treutlein, and M. Curtze advanced the view that the symbol for the unknown used by early German writers, looked so much like an x that it could easily have been taken as such, and that Descartes actually did interpret and use it as an x. But Descartes' mode of introducing the knowns a, b, c, etc., and the unknowns z, y, x makes this hypothesis improbable. Moreover, G. Eneström has shown that in a letter of March 26, 1619, addressed to Isaac Beeckman, Descartes used the symbol as a symbol in form distinct from x, hence later could not have mistaken it for an . At one time, before 1637, Descartes used x along the side of ; at that time x, y, z are still used by him as symbols for known quantities. German symbols including the for x, as they are found in the algebra of Clavius, occur regularly in a manuscript due to Descartes, the Opuscules de 1619-1621.

All these facts caused Tropfke in 1921 to abandon his old view on the origin of x, but he now argues with force that the resemblance of x and , and Descartes' familiarity with , may account for the fact that in the latter part of Descartes' Géométrie the x occurs more frequently than z and y. Eneström, on the other hand, inclines to the view that the predominance of x over y and z is due to typographical reasons, type for x being more plentiful because of the more frequent occurrence of the letter x, to y and z, in the French and Latin languages. [/quote]

. . .

The symbol that Descartes used does not come up here. You can see it at the URL above.

[/color]

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I guess that means I have to think up of another name, then.

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Look at Decartes' symbol
Look at Decartes' symbol here on page 4 of the pictures:

http://groups.msn.com/CharlisPlace/shoebox.msnw?lc=1033

For some reason, it won't post here on A2K. However, many of the other pix from Charli's Place have been posted here. Note "Dancing Charlie Chaplin":[/color]

http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~stephan/Animation/chaplin.movie.gif

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Doesn't seem to be a problem.

http://sc.groups.msn.com/tn/20/82/CharlisPlace/1/5c.jpg

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Than you, Reyn!
Thank you, Reyn! It had to be ME!!! [/color]

http://sc.groups.msn.com/tn/20/82/CharlisPlace/1/4a.jpg

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Re: Than you, Reyn!

Charli wrote:

Thank you, Reyn! It had to be ME!!! [/color]

Ah, it was nothing! My little way of helping out....

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Reyn wrote:

Doesn't seem to be a problem.

Thank you for your help, but that symbol is of no use to me.

I mean, how do you pronounce that symbol? What is it called? It's no use to me if it has no name or cannot be pronounced. I can't very well have the character do an "Artist Formerly Known As Prince" act who then converts his name into an unpronouncable symbol, which requires people to have a copy of that symbol and use it whenever they want to say his name.

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How about "?" !

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Decartes' unknown

has a name: "Decartes' unknown."[/color]

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Seems to be an (early form) of the letter "E" - if it's the 'Descartes symbol' that really could be.

The letter 'E' in the German handwriting Sütterlin (16th to 20th century) looks similar:

http://feldpost.mzv.net/Sutterlin/Alphabet.gif

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Thanks, Walter!!!
Thank you so much, Walter!!! I really appreciate your help!

Phonetically, how would that be pronounced in German? And, translating that to English, would one simply say "ee" like in seek?

A small digression: Are you going to any of the WC games? We follow the discussions about fútbol here on A2K - and elsewhere. Some of our folks have a famous-player relative from mid-20th century - 22,000+ hits on Google. Glad to PM you the name, if you wish.

Thanks again! - Charli [/color]

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Pronounced "ee" is correct.

Well, World Cup: I suppose, if I was a foreigner, chances had been that I could have got a ticket ...

So, just following it on tv (and watch, how our small local airport gets overcrowded again).

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Thanks, Walter!
Thanks again, Walter! This is what's so great about A2K and having folks like you as members!

Yes, you are absolutely correct about the WC tix. We belong to a "soccer" association here and have been offered any and all venues. However, besides paying Mega Euros, we must submit a DNA sample. :wink: Not really, but the application form is very, very detailed. Tickets are non-transferable. No, we're not going. TV broadcasts will suffice.[/color]

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Wow, my small case f's look like Sütterlin h's.

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For someone, who didn't grow up with Sütterlin [do you use At+0252 for the 'ü' or is it on your keyboard?] like me (just did it a bit at school), it's not easy to tell as well :wink:

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Basic Windows ASCII Character Map
Yes - in the keypad, I use Alt 0252 for " ü ". As you know, there is a whole range of alternate characters. I put the URL up once on A2K and one of the members put it in a Forum here. However, I don't remember which Forum. If I can find it later this weekend, I'll post it on this thread.

I printed out the chart and keep it by the computer for easy reference. [/color]

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I do the same :wink:

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With non-German letters and letters/symbols not an a German keyboard, I mean.

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Character Map URL
Here's the Character Map URL.

http://www.kelseypub.com/irc/charmap2.html

With all of the software programs on this computer, for some reason, I can't make a JPG or GIF of the chart to insert here. At one time, yes . . . but the process is lost in memory (mine, that is).

It is possible to change this keyboard to various language versions and strike one key for any accented character. Perhaps some day. At present, there's not enough hours in the day . . .

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Symbol for Unknown

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