Talk:Formal comma: Difference between revisions

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For pedagogical reasons. To the average person without a math degree, "formal" refers to formal clothes, formal speech, etc. It has connotations of stiffness and awkwardness, quite misleading. And the expression "merely a formality" implies something even more misleading. Whereas "mapping comma" captures the essence of the concept fairly well. We mentally map 5/4 to a major 3rd, not a minor 3rd or a diminished 4th. Because even though 5/4 isn't 81/64, it's only a comma away. --[[User:TallKite|TallKite]] ([[User talk:TallKite|talk]]) 04:45, 16 July 2025 (UTC)

: You shouldn't assume people intuitively define major thirds with respect to 81/64, but in general I see your point. -- [[User:VectorGraphics|VectorGraphics]] ([[User talk:VectorGraphics|talk]]) 09:15, 16 July 2025 (UTC)

: But also, I do think the page should be called formal comma, as it is the primary term in use on the wiki, just as with "monzo". -- [[User:VectorGraphics|VectorGraphics]] ([[User talk:VectorGraphics|talk]]) 09:19, 16 July 2025 (UTC)

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 For pedagogical reasons. To the average person without a math degree, "formal" refers to formal clothes, formal speech, etc. It has connotations of stiffness and awkwardness, quite misleading. And the expression "merely a formality" implies something even more misleading. Whereas "mapping comma" captures the essence of the concept fairly well. We mentally map 5/4 to a major 3rd, not a minor 3rd or a diminished 4th. Because even though 5/4 isn't 81/64, it's only a comma away. --[[User:TallKite|TallKite]] ([[User talk:TallKite|talk]]) 04:45, 16 July 2025 (UTC)
 : You shouldn't assume people intuitively define major thirds with respect to 81/64, but in general I see your point. -- [[User:VectorGraphics|VectorGraphics]] ([[User talk:VectorGraphics|talk]]) 09:15, 16 July 2025 (UTC)
+: But also, I do think the page should be called formal comma, as it is the primary term in use on the wiki, just as with "monzo". -- [[User:VectorGraphics|VectorGraphics]] ([[User talk:VectorGraphics|talk]]) 09:19, 16 July 2025 (UTC)