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However, by their measure, the results that were prepared in LaTeX were inferior to the results created in in Word. Even for papers that were heavy on equations

However, by their measure, the results that were prepared in LaTeX were inferior to the results created in in Word. Even for papers that were heavy on equations. So while the LaTeX users would think they create a better end-product, this isn't actually true under the quality metric used in the study. I have created academic work both in LaTex and in Word and while I have not measured it in an objective way I also had the feeling that LaTeX could create better looking results once you've got over the first hump. On the other hand, the integrated nature of a system like Word were spellchecking, annotations etc. are all part of the main tool you work with makes it very effective. It takes pretty long however to develop a workflow that avoids all the pitfalls. In a sense, LaTex makes you believe that once you got over the initial hump, you have typesetting super powers but you will miss out on some of the integrated UI stuff that may boost productivity. Word on the other hand makes you believe that you already know everything while you still need to keep fine-tuning your workflow until you don't mess up constantly.

ObviousScience 12y ago
> However, by their measure, the results that were prepared in LaTeX were inferior to the results created in in Word. They didn't measure the quality of the typesetting in any fashion, though, which is what the GP's claim was about; they measured the rate of errors typists made under time pressure. It's also unclear what LaTeX software they used, since the one I use has integrated spellcheck, etc.
- voidpointer 12y ago
  > It's also unclear what LaTeX software they used, since the one I use has integrated spellcheck, etc. That's a hugely important point and in a way it shows that they are comparing apples and oranges. Word is a complete document editing system (well, more or less) while LaTeX is a type setting systems and you need additional tools to use it. Those tools can range from a simple plain-text editor (say, nano) to totally integrated environments that are similar to word in their feature set.
ygra 12y ago
In my experience creating a high-quality end result requires knowing about typography, whether you use LaTeX or Word. Things like improperly typeset ”quotes”, or typesetting functions like sin, cos, etc. as variables in math mode, are mistakes that arise because people don't know what they're doing. And that's true regardless of the tool.

ObviousScience 12y ago

> However, by their measure, the results that were prepared in LaTeX were inferior to the results created in in Word. They didn't measure the quality of the typesetting in any fashion, though, which is what the GP's claim was about; they measured the rate of errors typists made under time pressure. It's also unclear what LaTeX software they used, since the one I use has integrated spellcheck, etc.

voidpointer 12y ago
> It's also unclear what LaTeX software they used, since the one I use has integrated spellcheck, etc. That's a hugely important point and in a way it shows that they are comparing apples and oranges. Word is a complete document editing system (well, more or less) while LaTeX is a type setting systems and you need additional tools to use it. Those tools can range from a simple plain-text editor (say, nano) to totally integrated environments that are similar to word in their feature set.

ygra 12y ago

In my experience creating a high-quality end result requires knowing about typography, whether you use LaTeX or Word. Things like improperly typeset ”quotes”, or typesetting functions like sin, cos, etc. as variables in math mode, are mistakes that arise because people don't know what they're doing. And that's true regardless of the tool.