Cannot make bigger parentheses with \left \right

Question

I try making my second pair of parenthesis bigger to match the picture using:

$$= p+(1-p)\left(1+ \mathbf E [X]\right)$$

Somehow, that doesn't work. Can someone point out my error?

note you should not use $$ in latex, there is no reason to enlarge the () here and latex does not by default but you could use \bigl(1+...\bigr) to force a larger size — David Carlisle, Jan 10 '20 at 17:46
@DavidCarlisle Not really. For instance, in Math.SE one has to use $$. Or \\[ and \\] — egreg, Jan 10 '20 at 18:17
@egreg yes I know, but that's because they use a non-default configuration in the mathjax setup (to allow $$) and pass it through a markdown processor before mathjax sees it (which is why \ needs to be doubled) — David Carlisle, Jan 10 '20 at 18:18

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 10 '20 at 18:06

2

Note you should not use $$ in latex, there is no reason to enlarge the () here and latex does not by default but you could use

\bigl(1+...\bigr)

to force a larger size

answered Jan 10 '20 at 18:06

David Carlisle

Thank you! I was copying from a note, and wish to match the original text as much as possible. – J. Doe Jan 11 '20 at 07:18

rral · Answer 2 · 2020-01-10T20:15:31.300

2

A similar answer is in the following link. You can choose between the following options: \bigl, \Bigl and \Biggl . For example

\begin{equation}
    \Biggl( \Bigl( \bigl((a+b)^2\bigr)^2 \Bigr)^2 \Biggr)^2
\end{equation}

the output is:

more Brackets and Parentheses in link

edited Jan 10 '20 at 20:15

answered Jan 10 '20 at 19:53

rral

1

There's also \vert and \Vert, which end up being | and ||, respectively. The advantage of the former is that there's also \lvert, \rvert, \lVert, and \rVert, which end up being | and ||, but having the appropriate interpretation of "left/right delimiter" which helps with the spacing. – Teepeemm Jan 10 '20 at 20:57
Thank you for a barrage of an answer, gent! – J. Doe Jan 11 '20 at 07:19

2 Answers2