Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Recommended Resources LaTex and Asymptote

I am debating how hard to nudge DS to master LaTex (Editor/Compiler) and Asymptote (vector graphics language). In general, I encouraged the kids to master as many software and applications as possible for a number of reasons. The more you learn, the easier it is to pick up new sofware. As you move into the higher level grades/courses these days, teachers use a variety of programs and the students are pretty much expected to pick it up on their own with a few pointers.

AoPS uses LaTex and Asymptote. DS has been taking their Geometry course but has not been inclined to learn LaTex or Asymptote. I would like him to take the time to learn/master them. To be fair, DS doesn't actually need LaTex as he has no trouble typing math when he answers questions during AoPS classes since he had to type most of his math for Algebra I and all of his math for algebra II at school. DS also doesn't actually need Asymptote since he has no problem creating figures/diagrams using GeoGebra, which he used the last three years at school for Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II. You can also export GeoGebra files to Asymptote.

I guess I am wondering how prevalent/important LaTex and Asymptote are. Is it worth learning?

I used LaTeX to write up both my M.Sc. and Ph.D. theses and for a few other documents. I loved it. At the same time, that was in the 90s and word processing programs have come a long way since then, and I don't feel a need for it like I used to. A developer friend who defaulted to it back then now uses Word. Most people do as far as I know, though LaTeX is still popular.

What are your son's career aspirations? If he wants to work in computer science, learning LaTeX (and an editor like emacs) would probably benefit him. If he isn't shooting for an IT-type track, but is mathy, R or Mathematica would be good choices. R is especially good for statistics. Both are way more meaty than LaTeX. Then there are HTML and CSS, which are everywhere and also very useful. Etc.

Thanks, Val; that was helpful. It sounds like I should just let him stick with what is working, especially since he isn't an avid coder.