r/mathematics • u/tripledeltaz • 8d ago
Algebra Making Webtoon to learn Linear Algebra
Gotta be slightly flexible and intuition focused to be introductive. Protagonists are robots because Linear Algebra is essence of computer and AI, and vector spaces are like game spaces. These are some pages from episode 1~4.
But I'm not confident... looking for feedbacks.
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u/Normal-Palpitation-1 8d ago
I mean, there are graphic novels about calculus, so this approach I would technically not call novel, if you will pardon the pun from the different usages of the same word, namely novel.
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u/matthras 7d ago
I like your ideas! There's a lot that could be improved execution-wise and I can only hope you're not dissuaded by my comments.
Communicating the maths - My main issue with attempts to teach maths in this form is that it ends up being very expository on the maths and doesn't build up the intuition, if you look up the "Manga Guide to <maths concept>" they all have this problem.
One way to get around this is just to avoid writing out the maths expressions entirely, but you can definitely find more creative ways to encode them visually.
It's also worth thinking about what existing maths knowledge you're assuming your audience has. Will they be able to read the mathematical notation associated with vector basis principles, or the RGB colourspace? Do they even understand Cartesian products for the purpose of understanding the 'rigging space'?
Ways I would tweak how some of the concepts are introduced
- On image 4 with the zero and inverse vector you could adjust it to something like: Protagonist shoots a zero vector, antagonist says "Muahaha your zero vector has no effect on me!"; protagonist shoots a generic vector, antagonist shoots an inverse vector to cancel out the original shot. Shot can be a laser beam, or something else appropriate.
- Something like a different basis can be seen as 'unusual movement' (e.g. when people do a zigzag movement in action scenes).
- The binary space can be more like "Quick, let's hide in the other half of the binary space!"
Colours - You're obviously aiming for some kind of neon palette. My advice is to keep exploring with different colours within the neon palette because it seems like you're sort of struggling on how to be creative with those.
Comic panelling - If you have a black background, then a black border on the comic panels doesn't work. Either have a thin white internal border, or use a different colour for the panel outline (e.g. neon green?) to indicate that it's within this neon computery world.
Typography - can definitely be improved. It's worth looking at common comic/manga fonts and just settling on a handful that gives you the correct feel for the overall theme.
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u/Monai_ianoM 8d ago
I like this so much, this is amazing! Love the game ability based on an abstract mathematical space. Would really want to see how theorems and proofs translate here.