[BlindMath] UEB Math History/Methodology

[Mike Gorse]

Part of the difficulty with Braille-to-print translation has been that 
Braille could be ambiguous (does the dot-6 before the N signify 
capitalization, or an ation contraction?) It may generally be obvious to a 
human reader, but it is more challenging to construct a set of rules that 
a computer can use to make the right decision, so a program may try to 
guess but make the wrong decision at times. I think that one of UEB's 
goals was to remove such ambiguities (I know that Joe Sullivan, president 
of Duxbury Systems, was involved in its development).

I'm not saying whether people should prefer UEB--I haven't used UEB math, 
so I can't make an informed comparison--but I suspect that it would make 
Braille-to-print translation more accurate.

On Fri, 7 Jul 2017, Sarah Jevnikar via BlindMath wrote:

> Hi all,
> I'd like to better understand the thinking behind UEB math. While Nemeth
> isn't perfect, UEB math seems more cumbersome and convoluted. Please correct
> me if I'm out of line here.
>
> Canada has done a full change to UEB, including mathematics. Therefore I'll
> have to work with it at some point. I'm concerned though that it's a step
> backwards towards the inclusion of blind students and professionals in STEM.
> Again, I am willing to be wrong here.
>
> My question is this: what are the benefits of UEB math? Who created it? Were
> they mathematicians/familiar with math? Is the move away from Nemeth
> something to be celebrated? Where does it leave Braille-to-print
> translation, which was imperfect for Nemeth as it was, but at least it
> existed? Does such Braille-to-print and print-to-Braille translation have a
> technological solution for UEB math? I know that LaTeX is really the only
> universally usable option for blind creators of STEM stuff, but having a
> Braille option would also be ideal.
>
> Thank you very much for your insight. All the best to everyone attending
> Convention this year. I was hoping this would be my first, but summer school
> got in the way...
>
> Thanks again,
> Sarah
>
>
> I hope this makes
>
>
>
>
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