On Fri, Aug 7, 2009 at 08:55, Achim Blumensath wrote: >> I don't recall ever seeing a five-pointed mathematical >> asterisk in any books or papers I have read. > > That's just because most mathematical texts are set in a baroque or > romantic typeface like Times or Modern, which have asterisks with six > tear-drop shaped arms.
I'm sure you are right that most mathematical texts are set in baroque or modern typefaces. But it's more than that: even those texts that are set in old-style typefaces still use 6-armed asterisks. For example, the journals Nature and Nature Physics are currently set in Minion, but they use 6-armed math asterisks (I can send you a reprint if you'd like to see). Paul Hudak's book "The Haskell school of expression" is set in Lucida Bright, but uses 6-armed math asterisks. I'm sure there are other examples. These are just what I found now. One final argument for using 6-pointed $*$: it makes the five-pointed $\star$ much more easily distinguished from $*$. Lev _______________________________________________ Minionpro-devel mailing list Minionpro-devel@lists.berlios.de https://lists.berlios.de/mailman/listinfo/minionpro-devel
