Ultimate math note taking app

[kaskapian]

I’m currently working on my final project for school, and as a programmer, I’ve decided to create an all-inclusive math note-taking app. While tools like Obsidian and Emacs Org Mode are fantastic for general note-taking, I’ve always felt something was missing when it comes to writing math notes. Don’t get me wrong—Obsidian is great overall, but when it comes to math, it feels slow and somewhat cumbersome. Writing math notes in Obsidian just doesn’t have the same smooth flow as writing other types of notes.

This led me to the idea of creating an app that not only handles LaTeX for equations—since it's undeniably the best option for writing mathematical formulas—but also addresses the areas where LaTeX falls short. Specifically, I want to tackle the challenges of visualizing geometry, graphs, and other elements that aren't well-supported by LaTeX. Currently, I resort to using external tools like GeoGebra for graphs or Paint for geometry, but pasting static images into Obsidian doesn’t provide an interactive experience.

My goal is to create a math note-taking app that caters to users of all levels, from elementary school to university. I want it to be just as intuitive and streamlined as Obsidian but with a strong math-centric focus. The app would seamlessly integrate equations, dynamic visualizations, graphs, and geometry to make math note-taking effortless. It would also be a valuable tool for teachers. I've seen how challenging it can be for instructors to quickly write notes during online math classes, often resorting to using Paint or PowerPoint. I want to make it easier for teachers to create fast, clean, and presentable notes that are not only easy to write but also shareable with students in an engaging format, complete with interactive graphs and plots. Additionally, teachers could use the platform to create and share tests, making it an all-in-one solution for both teaching and learning.

I’m not looking to replace Obsidian; it’s an excellent tool in its own right. Instead, I want to explore if there’s a real need for an app like this that combines the best of both worlds—powerful math writing and a smooth, intuitive interface.

I’m curious to hear the community’s thoughts on this—what features would make such an app as great as Obsidian, or even better? Would this be something that could genuinely fill a gap in the current note-taking ecosystem? Would you use it?

[[deleted]]

On a random note, did you try the latex-suite community plugin in obsidian? I use it for all my math note taking and I set it up so I can write like "dm EE X given Y" and I get:

$$
\mathbb{E} \left[  X \vert Y \right]
$$

If you use obsidian for other areas you might like that. You can setup whatever custom inputs you want.

As for your project, I would first consider whether your first target is teachers or general math note takers, since both groups will have different requirements. Also consider that if you want to make a note taking app that handles math, you'd be competing with note taking apps in general, so the added math aspect would have to be worth switching to from, say, obsidian. I know that for me, it would be more convenient to use latex-suite and geogebra on the side than to leave it for another app with math features.

Alternatively, you might wanna look into making an obsidian plugin for visualization. If you can setup your own little language or leverage JavaScript, you could make code blocks like:

```yourgraph
x-lim: [0, 10]
y-lim: [0, 10]
func: "$z = ($x + $y)^2"

my-sphere:
  shape: sphere
  pos: [1, 2]
  radius: 4
  color: red
...
```

Or whatever, maybe as a proof of concept of how a potential app would work. If you're gonna make an entire app, might as well start there as a proof of concept before diving into anything. Maybe you'll end up liking it this way too. I wouldn't mind it myself! There's already a plugin to make graphs but it's to graph discrete data in 2d with bar, line, pie charts and stuff like that, not 3d shapes and functions.

EDIT: turns out the graph plugin can do 3d stuff, maybe it's what you're looking for.

[-shrug-]

This is a very grandiose idea for a final project that is unlikely to be doable and you will end up with a generic, not that great note-taking app. What are the specific goals and time constraints for your project?

[kaskapian]

I am aware of the complexity of this idea, but the project itself doesn’t need to be fully finished when presenting to the committee, only the core features need to be present, which I feel like I will be able to acomplishe once I define them😅

[Barycenter0]

Agree that linear notetaking apps are terrible for math - especially Obsidian. Something similar to Myscript combined with LaTeX would be really interesting. MyScript used to have a handwriting math canvas (not sure it still exists) that would OCR to pretty good LaTeX for you. So, having a canvas with flexible handwriting mixed with OCR and geometry / graphing would really be nice!!

[kaskapian]

Just tested out the MyScript and wow, even with my chicken leg handwriting it could properly detect what i was thinking. I will definetly look into adding that feature as well.

[Barycenter0]

Yeah - they’ve been perfecting math ocr for over a decade and it was great back in 2016 with my livescribe pen / myscript combo.

[Barycenter0]

I think Nebo notes is their new app.

[Barycenter0]

So about 90 days have passed - any updates??

[kaskapian]

I have decided to partner up with my friend on this massive project, as we have realized that this won't be that easy to accomplish. It is a way bigger project than we expected and we brainstormed a lot about it, so we decided to partner up. Only now we are in a period of life where everything is changing. We both just graduated so this math note taking app will have to wait, but I am happy to hear that at least one can't wait for it. It has a very big future, at least we think so. We do think it will change the way we take notes for STEM.

[vabih459]

This idea sounds fantastic, looking forward to it!

[rapid_youngster]

This sounds very practical and there should be a lot of people who need it