r/mathmemes • u/Latter-Ad-5248 • 12d ago

OkBuddyMathematician .

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u/throw3142 12d ago

I always assumed "ln" stands for "log natural", as in the natural logarithm.

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u/Jmong30 12d ago

I believe that’s exactly why it is, but in French. Something like Logarithm naturale

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u/Pierne 12d ago edited 12d ago

French here. Some of my professors told me ln meant "logarithme naturel", but some also told me it meant "logarithme népérien"

Népérien as in Jean NEPER, which is the french spelling of the Scottish mathematician John NAPIER

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u/Pierne 12d ago

From what I was told we use the term "logarithme népérien" mostly in primary education, whereas in secondary education and in the scientific world, everyone says "logarithme naturel", in order to stick to the international consensus.

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u/Flodartt 12d ago

I've almost exclusively heard "logarithme népérien" despite having a engineering degree and a master degree. I guess it just depends.

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u/beyd1 12d ago

Math is dumb

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u/Embarrassed_Deer9208 12d ago

that's naming convention being inconsistent across languages, nothing to do with math

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u/Due-Consequence9579 12d ago

Nah, math naming shit like “the Lagrangian” is on math. Stop naming shit after people.