# Is there an easy way to remember what '\<' and '\>' mean in maths? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 27, 2013, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-easy-way-to-remember-what-and-mean-in-maths/672360 "2013-10-27T08:40:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-easy-way-to-remember-what-and-mean-in-maths/672360/21 "2013-10-27T16:19:01Z")
I was taught that the fat (overweight, larger) number has a belly that sticks out into the space of the skinny number. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-easy-way-to-remember-what-and-mean-in-maths/672360/22 "2013-10-27T16:21:18Z")
> [@Isilder](#): > > yeah, but its get confusing for some people, maybe because they are storing both \< and \> in the same bucket in their brain , and so they recall both when they see one or the other. (My grand mother , at a time after she had suffered a few strokes, and was getting frail and barely there, saw a picture of Angkor Wat and said “I know where that is, that is Canada!”… In her brain, Canada and Cambodia are stored in the bucket labelled “Countries starting with C and then A !” ) > So how about " L L L " … Little Left Less ! As long as you can remember LLL and your left and right… Little on the Left is Less THAN ! LLL ! The trouble is that any system that doesn’t rely on inherent symbolic meaning can be misremembered - for example “Little on the Left equals Larger than”. I could imagine someone even getting the alligator thing wrong, somehow. I’ve experienced the same problem myself trying to remember which of exactly two possibilities is the right one - for example, which of two lanes on a particular road later splits to form the middle lane. Another one I had trouble with was Port and Starboard - Someone suggested I remember it by the comparative word lengths (Port, Left are both short words - Right, Starboard are both longer words) - but I found myself doubting the system and wondering if the notable thing was based on opposites. (I now manage to remember it by reciting the phrase “I have a little RED PORT LEFT in my glass”) But in the case of \< and \> their meaning is visually represented in the symbols themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Cerealbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Cerealbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerealbox)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-easy-way-to-remember-what-and-mean-in-maths/672360/23 "2013-10-27T16:25:26Z")
My teacher grew an alligator with big teeth that always tried to eats the bigger number. Or you can remember that the wide end is bigger than the narrow (pointy) end. The number by the wide end is always bigger. Now go to school and yell at your teacher for not teaching you these ubiquitous mnemonics. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-easy-way-to-remember-what-and-mean-in-maths/672360/24 "2013-10-27T16:32:58Z")
Read it from left to right and at the left side of the symbol, there is either a lesser or greater opening. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-easy-way-to-remember-what-and-mean-in-maths/672360/25 "2013-10-27T16:38:55Z")
> [@Cerealbox](#): > > My teacher grew an alligator with big teeth that always tried to eats the bigger number. I’m not sure a classroom is the proper habitat for a large reptile. Did he keep it in a terrarium? Though you’ve got to admire the dedication, the only thing a teacher ever grew in a class I attended was peppercress in an eggshell. ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-easy-way-to-remember-what-and-mean-in-maths/672360/26 "2013-10-27T16:45:01Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > The wide end always points towards the greater value, the narrow end towards the lesser value. I think this would be confusing for most people because the narrow end is pointy. The wide end not looking pointy, it would be hard to remember that it “points” to anything. > [@demian\_travis](#): > > I always think of \< \> as a hungry crocodile (or its mouth…). As it is a hungry crocodile, its mouth will always face the biggest value. That’s what I always thought. I don’t know where all this alligator talk is coming from. 😉 Actually, I wonder if any teachers used Pac-Man to explain this. ---
**Author:** ![Cerealbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Cerealbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerealbox)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-easy-way-to-remember-what-and-mean-in-maths/672360/27 "2013-10-27T16:48:10Z")
One of my teachers did, actually. But it was part of his thing on the mouth of anything after using example of the hungry fish and we were all Luke “no its an alligator, not a fish.” ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-easy-way-to-remember-what-and-mean-in-maths/672360/28 "2013-10-27T17:01:04Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I could imagine someone even getting the alligator thing wrong, somehow. I did, sort of. I was taught that it was a hungry fish trying to eat the bigger number. But the teacher drew the fish surrounding the smaller number, which made it look like the fish had already swallowed the smaller number. I was totally confused by that for about two years until finally my brother explained that the big end goes next to the big number. The modern symbols for greater than and less than were invented in 1631 by [Thomas Harriot](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Harriot), ten years after he died. He was one smart zombie, and a pretty interesting fellow even before he died. ---
**Author:** ![Crawlspace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Crawlspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crawlspace)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-easy-way-to-remember-what-and-mean-in-maths/672360/29 "2013-10-27T17:15:09Z")
I heard about the alligator thing here, but I was taught \< looks like an L, as in “Less than”. So when I’m reading the equation my mind immediately sees “3 \ as opposed to “Larger than”. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-easy-way-to-remember-what-and-mean-in-maths/672360/30 "2013-10-27T17:40:17Z")
tennis was to blame for the animal thing. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-easy-way-to-remember-what-and-mean-in-maths/672360/31 "2013-10-27T18:15:19Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > But that’s exactly the same usage: notes to the left of ‘\<’ are played on a smaller volume than notes to the right, i.e. going from left to right, the volume has increased—crescendo, while notes to the left of ‘\>’ are played at a larger volume than notes to the right, so that again going from left to right, the volume has decreased—decrescendo. Exactly. Either way, “\<” means you’re going from smaller to larger; “\>” means you’re going from larger to smaller. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-easy-way-to-remember-what-and-mean-in-maths/672360/32 "2013-10-27T18:54:09Z")
The alligator image seems needlessly complex. I learned the concept that the smaller end points to the smaller number. Simple, easy to remember. Fits the OP’s requirements to a T. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-easy-way-to-remember-what-and-mean-in-maths/672360/33 "2013-10-27T20:06:37Z")
> [@Jake](#): > > Of course in musical notation, “\<” means crescendo, or \*increase \*volume, while “\>” is decrescendo, or \*decrease \*volume. This difference with music and math notation has confused me for years! > 😕 What difference? In both cases, the big end is the greater thing (either value or volume). ---
**Author:** ![Flander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-easy-way-to-remember-what-and-mean-in-maths/672360/34 "2013-10-27T20:19:10Z")
Alligator head! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-easy-way-to-remember-what-and-mean-in-maths/672360/35 "2013-10-27T20:25:47Z")
The alligator is bad enough (“big end next to big number” was always good enough for me), but I once had a teacher try to explain it in terms of trail blazes: If you follow a trail in the direction of the arrowhead, then the mile markers on the trail get smaller and smaller. As if a bunch of second-graders had any idea how trails were blazed. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-easy-way-to-remember-what-and-mean-in-maths/672360/36 "2013-10-27T20:42:15Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > The alligator image seems needlessly complex. I learned the concept that the smaller end points to the smaller number. Simple, easy to remember. Fits the OP’s requirements to a T. While the “smaller end points to the smaller number” is a reasonable way to remember it, I would hardly call the alligator image “complex.” :dubious: But then again, I grew up in the Pac-Man era and it was a pretty easy step from \> to mouth and, yes, I was taught the Pac-Man method as a way to remember it, too. The alligator image may work better for some people _ **because** _ there’s a little more to it than just “smaller end” of the symbol. The whole point is to come up with a memorable association. The alligator image is a very vivid, memorable mini-story that is easy to recall, whereas “smaller end points to smaller number” may be too simple and forgettable for some people, even though there is a visual element to it. Personally, I can usually remember things fairly well without mnemonics, but as a teacher I’ve found that some people really rely on them and for these folks the more detailed and interesting associations often work better than simpler versions. And the thing about these memory aids is that what works for one person may not work at all for someone else. It’s not a one-size-fits-all kind of solution. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-easy-way-to-remember-what-and-mean-in-maths/672360/37 "2013-10-27T20:44:36Z")
I always remember it with the bird analogy. It’s a bird’s beak and he’s of course looking at the bigger seed or whatever, and so… dammit. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-easy-way-to-remember-what-and-mean-in-maths/672360/38 "2013-10-27T20:51:17Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > ^Yup. I was taught that the ‘alligator’ eats the bigger number. And I think of Pac Man. Or I think like in music, with the crescendo and diminuendo or decrescendo sign, where the “small” quiet end is the point, and the loud “big” end is where they split apart and get bigger. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-easy-way-to-remember-what-and-mean-in-maths/672360/39 "2013-10-27T21:20:57Z")
Never mind the alligators, and big numbers eating small numbers and whatever. There are only two symbols, right? So, all you have to do is remember\* one\* of them. And the other will be self explanatory. KISS ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-easy-way-to-remember-what-and-mean-in-maths/672360/40 "2013-10-27T21:26:44Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > Never mind the alligators, and big numbers eating small numbers and whatever. There are only two symbols, right? So, all you have to do is remember\* one\* of them. And the other will be self explanatory. KISS But is it simpler to think of them as two separate symbols, or as one symbol that could be pointing in two different directions? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-easy-way-to-remember-what-and-mean-in-maths/672360.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-easy-way-to-remember-what-and-mean-in-maths/672360.md?page=3)