U+237C ⍼ Is Azimuth (ionathan.ch)

Article summary

The article discusses the origin of the Unicode symbol ⍼, which has been a mystery until recently. A Wikipedia user found a citation to a 1950 symbol catalogue listing the symbol as 'Azimut' or 'azimuth'. The symbol is believed to have been used to represent an azimuth or direction angle, possibly in navigation or cartography. The discovery was made possible by accessing archived catalogues from the type foundry H. Berthold AG.

Main themes

• Unicode symbol origins
• Azimuth and navigation
• Typography and font design
• Symbol discovery and mystery
• Cartography and mapping
• Technical communication

What commenters say

• The discovery of the symbol's origin is a significant finding, but it still doesn't answer where the symbol came from originally.
• The symbol's design resembles the way a light ray passes through a sextant to measure an azimuth, making its meaning more intuitive.
• Some commenters believe that the symbol's meaning is still not fully understood and that its original use may have been in a yet-unfound paper or manual.
• Others argue that the symbol's meaning is now clear, but its usage and representation in fonts may still be inconsistent or incorrect.
• The discussion highlights the challenges of representing specialized notation and symbols in Unicode, particularly in fields like navigation and cartography.
• Some commenters suggest that the discovery of the symbol's origin could lead to a standardization of its representation in fonts and a greater understanding of its meaning.
• The conversation also touches on the limitations of Unicode support in software and the importance of font design in representing obscure characters.
• There are differing opinions on the importance of standardizing controller glyphs in Unicode, with some arguing it would be useful for game tutorials and others citing the challenges of implementation.