On the first day of my first math class in my first semester of college, the first words my professor said were "this is a language class." Indeed, math is a language that can communicate concepts concisely and rigorously. Mathematical language often includes notation and images, and it can also include spoken and written words.
The mathematical meanings of words sometimes overlap with their meanings in non-mathematical contexts in unexpected ways. Each page of "Clopen - a digital math zine" is inspired by a mathematical word, phrase, or symbol that has been interpreted beyond its mathematical definition to include other associations and emotions.
For example, the words "open" and "closed" are ubiquitous in non-mathematical life: containers, businesses, windows, and doors can all be either open or closed. Mathematically, however, "open" and "closed" are not quite opposites; a single set can be open, closed, both open and closed (or “clopen”), or neither open nor closed. This peculiarity was a confusing and ultimately rewarding concept I learned as a math student, especially because it really demonstrated for me how the language of math interacts with the way we understand both math and the world.
While mathematical accuracy is not at all a goal of the zine, I don't believe that the representations of the terms are at odds with their mathematical meanings. In expressing the language of mathematics as a mishmash of other languages - visual, digital, textual, etc. - meaning is both lost and gained. In particular, the way each mathematical concept resonates with me emotionally is somehow recorded in the way I have represented it in the zine.
The site is partly based on resesarch about the distinction between interactive versus relational art, which is also an important conceptual discussion in the field of math education. The straightforward, rectangular buttons with which one interacts with the zine symbolize the rigidity with which math is often presented to students. Behind the interactions with these rigid buttons, however, are delightful mysteries, glitches, and randomness, subverting the idea of math as something that needs to be understood and proposing that instead it is something that can be experienced.