It’s convention, I think. If I remember correctly, you always put y on the left, because you can also write equations as functions of a variable, x, with the symbology f(x) = mx + b. That way you can integrate and derive the function easily, since m and b are constants, and all your x variables are on one side.

If I were to encounter x = my + b, the first thing I would do, just by nature at this point, would be to convert it to y = (x - b) / m.

It’s been a while since I took math, and I was never the best, so others should feel free to correct me.

[–] I_am_10_squirrels@beehaw.org 3 points 6 months ago

Correct. Y is a response to X. How does y change as x changes? If I need to achieve this y, what does my x need to be? By convention, y is the dependent variable and x is the independent variable, m is slope, and a, b, c are constants.