It is a typesetting language and is frequently used by academics and students all over the world.  Particularly mathematics and physics academics and students, due to the ease in which maths equations and derivations can be incorporated into a document, the ease with which figures and images can be handled and the ease with which references and citations are handled.

Well, I wouldn't say a crap load.  There's a lot of new stuff and to setup a document takes a little bit longer than a say a Word document, but most of the stuff can be learned on the fly.  Incorporating some complicated maths is the most difficult bit, but the time it takes to learn such things is utterly outweighed by the far superior look in the final document when compared with Word.  But there are also lots of decent guides on the wonder web and some (good) libraries stock some books on TeX, so learning LaTeX isn't that hard and certainly well worth it.

"That crap"?!  

Wouter, I am perturbed by such a comment.

IN MY DAY we typed equations in a minimal font onto transparent tape and inserted it manually onto a deliberate gap in a typescript galley and then photo-offset the sucker

you can still do that with a scanner

hard-science newbs, you have degenerated so, you're incapable of operating without IT...you forfeit the right to survive...your furniture budget should be rendered to Humanities

i prefer a rock

and i suppose a thin section and and a polarised light microscope

geology ftw

you cant do all of that cool stuff if you re ill!

so health science/medicine ftw

although i do prefer physics over chemistry

Eww dealing with stuff about the hypothalamus gets confusing real quick .... good luck

~ Cloud

> ~Pw32~  Random Hero wrote:

> Eww dealing with stuff about the hypothalamus gets confusing real quick .... good luck

~ Cloud

yes, it does, I seriously hate the limbic system, but it's either a specific structure within the limbic system (hence the amygdala) or a neurological disorder. Since disorders are more controversial, and harder to find consistent research I had to change the topic of my lecture and paper. Which is annoying because I have like 2 1/2 weeks left to do it.

Olfactory bulb/cortex might be easier to obtain anatomical structures and functions on

~ Cloud

The only advantage I can see for LaTeX is that it handles mathematical formulas etc better than Word which is probably why it is used to a large degree in physics.

Other than that Word in conjunction with Endnote and Powerpoint is more than sufficient for writing reports and presentations as long as you know what you're doing. I had absolutely no issues using Word to write my PhD thesis apart from page numbering which is a bit of pain in the tit.

I see Lat. Well, I guess I'm just suffering from the inferiority complex you exact scientists brought down on historians.
For what it's worth, I dislike word too, I use Corel's Wordperfect..