[BlindMath] Helpful suggestions

[Susan Jolly]

Hi Hector,

I am a sighted person with a background in math and computer science and
found Nemeth braille to be very natural for math because it is similar to
many programming languages.  If you can read contracted literary braille you
shouldn't have any trouble learning Nemeth which is similar to the computer
braille built into your braille notetaker. That you have read print math in
the past should be a big help because Dr. Nemeth purposely chose braille
symbols with dot patterns that resemble the corresponding print symbols
wherever possible.

Why don't you start by trying some simple algebra?  You will only need the
digits, the four operation signs, and the parentheses. The Nemeth decimal
digits use the same dot patterns as the literary braille ones except shifted
down to rows 2 and 3 instead of rows 1 and 2. Nemeth math always includes a
number sign in front of any numbers at the start of a line or preceded by a
space so you can easily tell letters from numbers. 

The minus sign is the same as a literary braille hyphen. The plus sign is
the same as the "ing" sign so you can remember it as a minus sign with an
extra dot.  The division sign is like a print slash, that is dots 34.  The
multiplication sign is the opposite, dots 16. The left parenthesis is dots
12356 and the right one is dots 23456.

Best wishes!
SusanJ