Greek Letters In Mathematics
During my time as a math and stats student, I have noticed that there were less numbers and more symbols. Among the symbols were Greek letters. At first I had some trouble figuring out what they were but I got used to it after taking more and more math courses.
Sections
- Some Greek Letters Found In Mathematics
- Greek Symbols In Statistics
- The "Greeks" In Finance
- A Bad Joke
- Notes
Some Greek Letters Found In Mathematics
Here is a list of Greek letters used in math (stats, probability, engineering, physics, computer science, finance, economics, etc.). Source Reference Link
Greek Symbols In Statistics
Here are the Greek symbols commonly used in statistics (and probability).
The "Greeks" In Finance
In the area of finance (financial stock options to be specific), Greek letters are used to represent quantitative risk measures and rates of change. These "Greeks" symbols are very technical and mathematical in nature as seen in the image below.
The delta (Δ) of an option refers to the change in an option's price from a change in the underlying security (option).
Gamma (Γ) is the first (calculus) derivative of the delta. It measures the changes based on changes in the price of the underlying asset from the option.
The theta (θ) refers to the rate of change of the option based on changes in time.
Vega is actually not an actual Greek letter but it is represented by the Greek letter nu (ν). Vega is a risk measure based on how much an option price will go up/down by based on the change of the implied volatility in the market.
More (financial) information on these topics can be found from the link: http://www.investopedia.com/articles/optioninvestor/02/120602.asp
A Bad Joke
For those of you familiar with Twitch chat, there is a Twitch emote which is also the name of a Greek letter.
This emote refers to:
Notes
Greek letters play a big role in mathematics (and related fields). You don't really have to memorize them all but it is helpful to be familiar with them.
As you take more mathematics (at the university level), you will see less numbers and more symbols in the form of Greek letters.
The math symbols were created with QuickLaTeX.com.