[be] -- symmetric letters
Sighted readers know that certain letters are symmetric.
p ~ q ~ b ~ d
n ~ u
m ~ w
This sometimes influences our decisions about which ones to employ for certain tasks. For example, probability theory uses “p” to denote the probability that an event happens, while “q” (its inverse) denotes the probability that this event does *not* happen. The visual similarity mirrors the conceptual similarity.
Symmetry is also the reason we feel an subconscious attraction to words like “bed”, “suns”, and “pod”. Near synonyms like “cot”, “stars”, and “container” are not nearly as good.
Braille readers have a different, much bigger, set of symmetrical letters.
p ~ v
r ~ w
e ~ i
b ~ c
m ~ u
n ~ z
d ~ f ~ h ~ j
For them, it would make more sense to use “p” and “v” as the variables in probability. For them, “bed”, “suns”, “pod”, and “dip” have no intuitive appeal. They may prefer words like “cab”, “row”, and “hid”. The typography changes the very nature of the language.
More generally, does the symmetry of their writing system predispose Braille readers to be more attuned to symmetric phenomena than sighted readers?