> Of course, the syntax of algebra is part of the universal language of
> mathematics, while the syntax of Mathematica is specific to one
> particular computer program. Which would you prefer to spend time on?
I really don't care which. What matters is not *what* symbolic syntax
students learn, but *that* they become proficient in one. And I don't buy
your statement that "the syntax of algebra is part of the universal language
of mathematics", because I don't accept the notion of a "universal language of
mathematics".
--Lou Talman