1. This symbol is extremely old and has been found to have meaning in many places from around the world for thousands of years. In early Chinese ideography it stood for the number 5, while as an Egyptian hieroglyph it meant to damage or divide. In traditional Nordic culture it represented a gift, particularly from a chief to a loyal warrior or subject. Since the beginning of the 17th century, this symbol has been used as a symbol of multiplication. Today, this diagonal cross has many meanings including cancellation, multiplication, crossbreed between different species (as in Punnett Squares), unknown, void, or road obstruction (a military use for this symbol).
2. This symbol conveys many meanings to me, and the knowledge that I receive when I see this symbol is varied, depending on the context of the situation. If I see it in a math problem I think either 'multiply' or 'variable' depending on what type of math problem it is, since 'x' is a common symbol in mathematics. If I see this symbol written very largely over a bunch of words I know it means 'void' or 'invalid' or basically, whatever was crossed out has no use anymore and is no good. Since this symbol can mean many things in different contexts, my knowledge varies, but seeing the symbol by itself, I simply see the letter 'x'.
3. This is an ambiguous symbol, due to the fact that it has so many meanings. It can mean completely different things from multiplication to void or invalid. It can be emotive as well, as some of its uses (such as void, no good, invalid) are definitely negative, while other uses such as multiplication or unknown are neutral, while the old Nordic use for it (gift) is positive. If I took a test and saw a big X over my writing, I would get a definite negative feeling from this, as none of what I would have written was worth anything, however if I see it as a multiplication sign in a math problem, to me it is more neutral and doesn't evoke positive or negative emotions.
4. The ambiguity of this symbol can present some problems of knowledge, mainly for people who are not aware of its various meanings. Someone may not know that an X can mean so many different things and may interpret it incorrectly. For example if I was looking at Egyptian hieroglyphics, I would not already know that to them it meant break or divide unless I looked it up, because in my own life I have never seen an X represent either of those things. Since this symbol is used in many different regions and cultures and has been for many years, it has taken on so many meanings that it is not likely that someone would be familiar with them all, which makes misinterpretation all that much more likely.
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