The cover of Reading the Greek by Probal Bose, with the 24 Greek letters in pastel tiles

Books / Reading the Greek

Every formula speaks Greek. This book teaches you to read it.

Name: Reading the Greek
Author: Probal Bose

Reading the Greek takes the 24 letters of the Greek alphabet one at a time, from α to ω, and shows what each one means in maths, physics, statistics and finance.

MathsPhysicsStatsFinance

Buy the book Read a free chapter PDF

One letter, four fields

The same symbol, 4 different jobs

A mathematician, a physicist, a statistician and a trader can all write σ and mean 4 different things. The book follows each letter through every field, so you know which meaning is in play.

A bar chart showing capital sigma adding up a list of terms

Add it all up

Capital Σ is the summation sign, a compact instruction to add up a whole list of terms.

A curve of the heat radiated by a hot surface as its temperature rises

Hot things glow

In the Stefan–Boltzmann law, σ sets how much heat each square metre of a hot surface radiates.

A bell curve with 1, 2 and 3 standard deviations marked

How spread out

Small σ is the standard deviation, how far values typically stray from the average.

Simulated price paths for a calm asset and a volatile one

How wildly prices swing

The same σ measures how wildly a price swings, probably the most used number in risk management.

Inside the book

Every chapter has the same shape

Each letter opens with how to say it, type it and write it by hand, and the symbols it's most often confused with. Next comes its family tree. Then colour-coded cards, one for each meaning, walk through the letter field by field.

2 facing pages from the Sigma chapter, with the letter banner, its history and the first maths cards

The sigma banner with how to say, type and write it, and 3 lookalike symbols — **Say it, type it, write it**Pronunciation, the LaTeX command, the Unicode code and the lookalikes to watch out for.

The family tree of sigma, from Phoenician shin to Greek, then Latin S and Cyrillic C — **Where it came from**A short history for every letter, from its Phoenician ancestor to the Latin and Cyrillic letters it became.

A Try it box with a short Python program and its printed output — **Try it in Python**Short programs you can run to see an idea at work, plus traps to avoid and questions with answers at the back.

Explore the alphabet

Tap a letter

A taste of the book's symbol finder. Pick any letter to see how to say it, how to type it and what it usually means in each field.

Free downloads

Try it before you buy it

2 free PDFs, no email needed. Print the cheat sheet for your desk, or read a full chapter to see how the book works.

A free chapter, sigma

The complete chapter on σ and Σ, from the summation sign to volatility, plus The Alphabet at a Glance, exactly as printed.

Download the sample PDF, 0.7 MB

Page 1 of the cheat sheet, showing alpha to mu in coloured tiles

The Greek alphabet cheat sheet

All 24 letters on 2 A4 pages, with how to say them, how to type them in LaTeX, and what they usually mean in maths, physics, statistics and finance.

Download the cheat sheet PDF, 0.4 MB

Who it's for

For anyone who ever got lost in an equation

Students

From school to a first degree, a friendly companion for the moment a lecture slide fills up with Greek.

Switchers

Engineers and developers moving into data science, quant finance or research, who need the notation fast.

Professionals

Analysts, researchers and teachers who want one clear desk reference across 4 fields.

The curious

Anyone who has met an α or a Δ in the news, a paper or a spreadsheet and wondered what it means.

Buy the book

Paperback and Kindle, on Amazon

The paperback is printed in full colour on 8 × 10 inch pages. The Kindle edition has the same content and colour figures.

Also available from Amazon stores in other countries. Search for “Reading the Greek Probal Bose”.

Book details

Author: Probal Bose
Publisher: Turnpages, 2026
Pages: 224, full colour
Trim size: 8 × 10 in
Paperback ISBN: 9798177143972
Language: English (UK)
Chapters: 24, one per letter
Free extras: Sample · Cheat sheet