# !=

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/255974>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 20, 2004, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/255974 "2004-07-20T08:29:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\
**Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t//255974/21 "2004-07-20T23:33:12Z")

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> [@Chronos](#):
>
> \<\> is not exactly synonymous; the statement “i \<\> 1” is false (where i is the imaginary unit), but the statement “i != 1” is true. \<\> only works well where there is a natural ordering on the objects being compared.

What are you talking about? The symbol “\<\>” means whatever we decide it means.

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**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t//255974/22 "2004-07-21T01:13:47Z")

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> [@Jeff Olsen](#):
>
> Just wanted to point out that the struck-throuh = is … Alt+0185.

Or option-+.

? = (option =) 😃

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**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t//255974/23 "2004-07-21T01:15:54Z")

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> [@Troy McClure SF](#):
>
> Or option-+.
> 
> ? = (option =) 😃

Huh. But the proper “does not equal” sign doesn’t render through, I suppose, the Intarweb.

I wonder if ? does.

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**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t//255974/24 "2004-07-21T10:57:10Z")

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!unusual -\> C;  
++familiarity #include EverydaySpeech.h

🆒

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**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t//255974/25 "2004-07-21T11:57:16Z")

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> [@ultrafilter](#):
>
> What are you talking about? The symbol “\<\>” means whatever we decide it means.

Well, \<\> has due to its use in basic, etc, I think come to mean “not equal to”. But I say what he meant was that “The most reasonable interpretation of \<\>, consistent with other similar compositions, would be ‘Either less than or more than’.”

> [@Trigonal Planar](#):
>
> The point of this being that there are far more people out there who do in fact have some knowledge of computer science.

BTW or LOL aren’t self evident to anyone - people look them up or pick them up from context. != at least is obvious to some people.

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