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Everything about Alpha

First letter of the Greek alphabet

Alpha ALF-ə is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter aleph ⟨𐤀⟩, whose name comes from the West Semitic word for 'ox'. Letters that arose from alpha include the Latin letter ⟨A⟩ and the Cyrillic letter ⟨А⟩. Wikipedia →

🧭 Start here: a 6-step reading path

  1. Read the overview: AlphaA 5-minute orientation
  2. Skim a recent paper: Alpha-synuclein in Parkinson’s disease and other synucleinopathies: from overt neurodegeneration back to early synaptic dysfunctionInfluential work since 2022
  3. Pick up a classic book: Sweet Savage LoveThe most-reprinted book on the subject
  4. Read the landmark paper: Coefficient Alpha and the Internal Structure of TestsCited 31,374 times
  5. Go sideways: EpsilonA closely related topic
  6. Go sideways: OmicronA closely related topic

📖 Definitions

Noun The name of the first letter of the Greek alphabet (Α, α), followed by beta. In the Latin alphabet it is the predecessor to A.

Noun Latin alpha: the Latin letter Ɑ (minuscule: ɑ).

Noun The name of the symbols Α and α used in science and mathematics, often interchangeable with the symbols when used as a prefix.

Noun The return of a given asset or portfolio adjusted for systematic risk.

🗂️ The subject at a glance

  1. Uses
  2. History and symbolism
  3. Unicode

🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)

🆕 Influential since 2022

📚 Books worth reading

Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.

🔗 Related topics