Hmmm, I wonder where the shortcut nomenclature of 2(x) is the same as 2 times x came from and how long ago? It has the similar look of a function: f(x) = 2x. You've got other functions using the same format cos(x), log(x), etc. with defined meanings for cos, log, etc. This has been an interesting thread to read.
I imagine that once algebra started using “x” as a variable, the use of “x” for multiplication had to go. Having one “default” operator makes sense.