Talk:Formal comma

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Revision as of 04:45, 16 July 2025 by TallKite (talk | contribs) (Created page with "= Why mapping comma not formal comma? = 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 tho...")
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Why mapping comma not formal comma?

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. --TallKite (talk) 04:45, 16 July 2025 (UTC)