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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en" dir="ltr">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="styles.css">
<link rel="icon" href="images/icon.ico">
<title>a digital math zine</title>
</head>
<body style="margin: 8%">
<h2>Clopen - a digital math zine</h2>
<h4>A work in progress, started in Fall 2023</h4>
<p>
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.
</p>
<p>
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.
</p>
<p>
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.
</p>
<p>
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.
</p>
<p>
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.
</p>
<div class="backButton"><a href="https://atorresen.github.io/art/">AnneMarie Torresen</a></div>
<div class="backButton"><a href="index.html">back</a></div>
</body>
</html>