[BlindMath] UEB Math History/Methodology

[Steve Jacobson]

Sarah,

There isn't a real simple answer to your question.  UEB math is an attempt
to make literary braille and mathematical braille fit together better.  The
period and the decimal point use the same symbol in braille as they are in
print, to pick a very simple example.  We see more math in literary braille
now, so it also means that other symbols that you might see in a novel or in
a magazine article are the same in UEB math such as the plus sign.  It also
means that internet addresses can be written using the same symbols with
less of a need to use a separate computer braille code.  I think it is fair
to say that there were mathematicians involved in the development of UEB
math.

However, UEB math is very different than the Nemeth Code which has been used
for math in the United States for many years.  It is, in my opinion, much
more difficult to move from Nemeth Code to UEB math than it is to switch to
reading UEB for text.  Therefore, Nemeth Code is still in use here in the
United States.  Having transcribers already familiar with Nemeth Code also
plays a role.  There has been a good deal written showing that Nemeth Code
is more compact than UEB math, but there are legitimate questions about some
of the extreme comparisons.  This has been an emotional discussion here in
the United States.

I am a Nemeth Code user but have tried to portray the two codes in as
unbiased way as I can.  What probably determines which code you should learn
is where you hope to get most of your braille texts.  It is going to be
worth learning Nemeth Code if you will be getting math texts from the United
States.  If you will be getting texts from Canada, then learning UEB math is
probably what makes sense.

Finally, I think learning either code is sometimes made to sound harder than
it needs to be.  There are a lot of math symbols that sighted people don't
learn at the outset.  If one learns what one needs to perform the math at a
given level, the job isn't that tough.  One can then build upon what one
learns as one gets into more complex math.  It is, for example, hard to
remember the integral sign if one does not know what an integral is.

Perhaps others who have used UEB math more than I will correct anything here
that is wrong.  I hope, though, that we can avoid a long discussion of which
is best.  I personally believe using the Nemeth Code in the United States
makes sense for us, but I do not believe that means that UEB math is not a
valid and useful code.

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson

-----Original Message-----
From: BlindMath [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Sarah
Jevnikar via BlindMath
Sent: Friday, July 07, 2017 12:39 PM
To: 'Blind Math list for those interested in mathematics'
<blindmath at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Sarah Jevnikar <sarah.jevnikar at gmail.com>
Subject: [BlindMath] UEB Math History/Methodology

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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