The next logical question is, "Where did × and ÷ originate?" From there, I've always wondered how multiplication migrated from "×" to "∗"? And recently, I've wondered if we will migrate "-" to something else? (This last derives from having to annotate a range of numbers including positive and negative. When "-" is used for both range and negative, it causes confusion.)
p.s. I tried to post this to the original poster's blog, but was told "...your comment seems a bit spammy." Really? I'd say their blogger spam settings a more than a bit off.
I always thought the * was used for multiplication to avoid confusing × with the English alphabet X. We can usually distinguish them while writing equations on paper(I write x in a cursive, for example).
* was used for multiplication because there weren't enough bits to fit every symbol everyone would have liked into ASCII, so compromises were made, including preference for symbols that could be 'overloaded' with multiple meanings in different contexts.
p.s. I tried to post this to the original poster's blog, but was told "...your comment seems a bit spammy." Really? I'd say their blogger spam settings a more than a bit off.