Why do we use Greek letters, like alpha (α), beta (β), and gamma (γ), in mathematical notation?
In: Mathematics
Tradition mostly. 26 letters in the Roman alphabet may seem like a lot – most specific mathematical applications don’t really need 26 distinct variables, especially if you allow for subscripts, superscripts, or other adornments like hat, bar, and tilde – but each bit of math exists in a far broader context. For example, you should always think twice before using ‘f’ for anything other than a function or using ‘e’ in any context where it can be confused for Euler’s number. These constraints get even tighter in specific fields. For example, the following will likely make any statisticians in the audience cry blood (you have been warned):
X = sY + a
and just to cleanse the palate:
Y = βX + Ɛ
Greek letters give a little bit more flexibility so that “reserved” notation doesn’t eat up quite so much of the space of possibilities. In fact, it’s quite nice for that reserved notation to be mostly Greek letters because it frees up Roman letters for easy connections between application specific parameters. (Physicists look away) If you want a variable for ‘cost,’ it’s nice to have ‘c’ available.
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