[judofyr]

> Not true at all, there are several times I've attempted to read through a textbook only to be stopped by notation because something was introduced prior to being referenced, or notation is overloaded with multiple meanings.

Are you saying that it was the notation alone which caused you to completely stop reading the book? I can't see that I share that experience. There are certainly times where I don't fully understand a proof or a lemma due to uncertainty about the notation, but that's rarely a _blocker_. I just skip it, continue reading and come back to it later.

I agree with the GP here: The main thing which blocks _me_ on a book is the subject itself and how the author presents it. The problem is rarely the notion by itself, but the fact that the author uses concepts which I don't know about.

EDIT: It should also be pointed out that the GP didn't say that notation was _never_ a problem, only that it's a much _smaller_ problem than "those presented with the subject itself". The big question about your experience would be if you would have been unblocked if the notation was explained in English, or if it would just uncover that it uses concepts which haven't been fully explained to you.