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I find the italics of Computer Modern inconsistent: The lower case o is too slanted, and the parentheses are too slanted and are too long, resulting in too much air below/above the text, respectively.

I understand that this is a subjective issue and an inexact science, but I find it quite disturbing and was wondering if this is just me or if it's a known issue. And if it's a known issue, is there a cure, other than using an entirely different font?

Here is an attempt to illustrate my point:

\documentclass[border=2pt]{standalone}
\begin{document}
\textit{Inconsistent (italics)}
\end{document}

Italics example Italics example with superimposed lines

(The issue with the o isn't that clear in the picture, perhaps it's easier to see in a denser, less zoomed text.)

Ulrik
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  • If you don't like the design of a font, use another one. In the famous “Birth of Venus” painting by Botticelli, Venus's left arm is “inconsistent”; would you try and fix it? I'm not saying that Computer Modern italic is as beautiful as that painting, but it reflects its designer’s ideas. – egreg Apr 17 '21 at 08:13
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    Here's what Ralph Waldo Emerson (1802-1883) had to say about consistency: "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines." Is the slant of some of the glyphs really "quite disrturbing"? – Mico Apr 17 '21 at 08:25
  • BTW Computer Modern Italic's o() are slanted at exactly the same angle as most other characters (the i and half of the n are a different story), what you are seeing e.g. for ) is mostly that the curve of the ) combined with the small character in front of it makes the slant more prominent than in other locations. – Marcel Krüger Apr 17 '21 at 08:56
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    You might be interested in https://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/86112/how-to-get-upright-parentheses-in-the-whole-document . While upright parentheses are objectively less consistent, they often look better subjectively. But as mentioned there, the best approach if you don't like the slant is to use another font. – Marcel Krüger Apr 17 '21 at 09:03
  • Unfortunately, using a different font is not an alternative, since most publishers in my field of mathematics use Computer Modern. I don't really buy the argument that o and () are slanted at the same angle as other characters – when designing a font you can follow a formula to get a rough idea of how characters should look, but small changes for a consistent overall look are essential. And I'll just ignore the condescending remarks about consistency; the job of a typographer is to end up with a uniform, consistent and easy to read page. – Ulrik Apr 19 '21 at 07:15
  • @Mico thanks for the tip about upright parentheses. As a side note, the Times font in e.g. mathptmx or mtpro2 features nice 'o's and smaller, better looking parentheses. I can't force publishers to use them, though. – Ulrik Apr 19 '21 at 07:19
  • @Ulrik - Umm, did you mean to direct your comment at Marcel Krüger? – Mico Apr 19 '21 at 08:02
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    Sorry! I meant @MarcelKrüger :) – Ulrik Apr 19 '21 at 09:07

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