0

I am reading computer science texts, which tend to include a lot of summations and set logic. In set logic, formulas commonly use a capitalized variable to reference a whole set, i.e. $\Omega$, and a lowercase variable to represent a given member, i.e. $\omega$. Given that, how does one read something like:

$$ 0\leq Pr(\omega)\leq 1\mathrm{\quad and \quad}\sum_{\omega\in\Omega}{Pr(\omega)} = 1 $$

Perhaps it's due to my [poor] command of math, but I tend to read this out loud to myself, and it's odd to say "The sum of the probability of omega, where omega is a member of omega..."

asthasr
  • 115
  • 1
    It may look like "The sum of the probability of omega, where omega is a member of omega...", but usually $\Omega$ is called either the 'sample space' or the 'universe' to make the distinction. – jameselmore Jul 24 '15 at 12:14
  • 2
    What about big omega ? It is also a good exercise to recall the nature of the entities like "the sum over all elements [[small] omega] in the set [big omega]..." –  Jul 24 '15 at 12:16
  • 1
    One could say "little" and "big" omega to distinguish or refer to $\Omega$ as capital omega. – Rammus Jul 24 '15 at 12:16
  • http://forvo.com/word/omega/ splits the debate into o-mega and ohm-ega – JMP Jul 24 '15 at 12:35

1 Answers1

1

Generally, I would not use greek letters when speaking out loud if it is not necessary. I would say something like

All probabilities are between $0$ and $1$, and the sum of all probabilities from the sample space is $1$.

Eff
  • 13,304