> formulas written using operators are more easily processed visually has something to do with it: they engage the brain's visual processing machinery, which operates largely subconsciously, and tells the conscious part what it sees (e.g. "chair" rather than "pieces of wood joined together").

This is why I prefer ML-style syntax over Algol-style syntax.

ML-style syntax (with sugar for pattern matching) engages my visual process machinery better, such that I can scan over function definitions more at a glance, than the "literary" style of Algol syntax