Definition:Natural Logarithm/Notation

Definition
The notation for the natural logarithm function is misleadingly inconsistent throughout the literature. It is written variously as:


 * $\ln z$
 * $\log z$
 * $\log_e z$

The first of these is commonly encountered, and is the preferred form on. However, many who consider themselves serious mathematicians believe this notation to be unsophisticated.

The second is ambiguous (it doesn't tell you which base it is the logarithm of).

While the third option is more verbose than the others, there is no confusion about exactly what is meant.