Math in Everyday Tools

Lesson 14 of 19 5 min read
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Not every equation needs a full LaTeX document. Students write math in Google Docs, Notion, Obsidian, Jupyter notebooks, and Markdown files daily. This chapter surveys how mathematical notation works across the tools you already use.

The Landscape

  • Tool: Google Docs | LaTeX: No | WYSIWYG: Yes | Inline: Yes | Display: Yes | Renderer: Native
  • Tool: Microsoft Word | LaTeX: No | WYSIWYG: Yes | Inline: Yes | Display: Yes | Renderer: Native
  • Tool: Notion | LaTeX: Yes | WYSIWYG: No | Inline: Yes | Display: Yes | Renderer: KaTeX
  • Tool: Obsidian | LaTeX: Yes | WYSIWYG: No | Inline: Yes | Display: Yes | Renderer: MathJax
  • Tool: Jupyter | LaTeX: Yes | WYSIWYG: No | Inline: Yes | Display: Yes | Renderer: MathJax
  • Tool: Markdown (basic) | LaTeX: No | WYSIWYG: No | Inline: No | Display: No | Renderer: None
  • Tool: Markdown + KaTeX | LaTeX: Yes | WYSIWYG: No | Inline: Yes | Display: Yes | Renderer: KaTeX
  • Tool: Typst | LaTeX: Own | WYSIWYG: No | Inline: Yes | Display: Yes | Renderer: Native

    Google Docs

Google Docs has a built-in equation editor (Insert > Equation). It uses a WYSIWYG toolbar with buttons for fractions, roots, integrals, and Greek letters.

Pros

  • No syntax to learn. Point and click.
  • Real-time collaboration works with equations.
  • Equations are searchable within the document.

Cons

  • Limited: no numbered equations, no cross-references, no align equivalent.
  • Slow for complex expressions (many clicks per symbol).
  • No keyboard shortcut flow for power users.
  • Equations don’t export well to other formats.

Tip: Google Docs now supports LaTeX-like shortcuts: type \frac in the equation editor, and it creates a fraction. Type \alpha for \( \alpha \). This speeds things up significantly, but the overall experience is still limited compared to real LaTeX.

Microsoft Word / Office 365

Word’s equation editor (Insert > Equation, or Alt + =) supports a syntax called UnicodeMath:

a/b         -> fraction
x^2         -> superscript
x_n         -> subscript
\sqrt(x)    -> square root
\int_0^1    -> integral
\alpha      -> Greek letter

Pros

  • UnicodeMath is fast to type once learned.
  • Professional rendering quality (improved in recent versions).
  • Equations export to MathML.
  • Accessible by default (screen reader support).

Cons

  • Multi-line alignment is clunky.
  • No theorem environments, no automatic numbering.
  • Collaboration on complex equations can cause formatting corruption.
  • UnicodeMath syntax differs from LaTeX (learning two systems).

Notion

Notion supports LaTeX math powered by KaTeX:

  • Inline math: Type Ctrl/Cmd + E and enter LaTeX syntax, or wrap with $...$.
  • Display math: Type /math to create a math block.
Inline: $E = mc^2$ (wrap in dollar signs)
Block: /math then type LaTeX in the block

Supported: \frac, \sqrt, \sum, \int, matrices,
           \begin{aligned}, \begin{cases}
Not supported: \DeclareMathOperator, some
               amsmath extensions

Warning: Notion uses KaTeX, so some advanced LaTeX commands won’t work. Stick to standard amsmath commands for compatibility. Check the KaTeX supported functions list if something doesn’t render.

Obsidian

Obsidian renders math using MathJax:

  • Inline: $...$ (single dollar signs)
  • Display: <!--M0--> (double dollar signs)

Since Obsidian uses MathJax, it supports a wider range of LaTeX commands than Notion:

Inline math: The equation $E = mc^2$ is famous.

Display math:
<!--M1-->

Multi-line:
<!--M2-->

Tip: Obsidian is an excellent tool for LaTeX-flavored math notes. You get the speed of Markdown with the power of MathJax rendering, and your notes are stored as plain text files you own forever.

Jupyter Notebooks

Jupyter notebooks use MathJax to render LaTeX in Markdown cells:

# Inline
The probability is $P(A|B) = \frac{P(B|A)P(A)}{P(B)}$

# Display
<!--M3-->

# In code output (using IPython.display)
from IPython.display import Math
Math(r'\sum_{i=1}^{n} x_i = x_1 + x_2 + \cdots + x_n')

Jupyter also supports LaTeX in:

  • Plot labels: plt.xlabel(r'$x$ axis')
  • SymPy output: sympy.init_printing()
  • DataFrame rendering with .style.format

Markdown

Standard Markdown has no math support. But many Markdown processors add it:

  • Tool/Processor: GitHub (README, issues) | Math Syntax: $...$, <!--M4--> | Renderer: MathJax
  • Tool/Processor: GitLab | Math Syntax: $...$, <!--M5--> | Renderer: KaTeX
  • Tool/Processor: Pandoc | Math Syntax: $...$, <!--M6--> | Renderer: KaTeX/MathJax/MathML
  • Tool/Processor: Hugo | Math Syntax: Via shortcodes or KaTeX/MathJax | Renderer: Configurable
  • Tool/Processor: Jekyll | Math Syntax: Via plugins | Renderer: KaTeX or MathJax
  • Tool/Processor: Astro | Math Syntax: Via plugins | Renderer: KaTeX or MathJax
  • Tool/Processor: Next.js (MDX) | Math Syntax: Via remark plugins | Renderer: KaTeX or MathJax
    
Inline: $E = mc^2$

Display:

$$ \int_0^\infty e^{-x}\,dx = 1 $$

Also works in issues, PRs, and wiki pages.


## Typst

Typst is a newer alternative to LaTeX designed for modern workflows. It compiles instantly and uses its own syntax:

**LaTeX**

```latex
$\frac{a}{b}$
$\sqrt{x^2 + y^2}$
$\sum_{i=1}^{n} i$
$\int_0^1 f(x)\,dx$

Typst

$a / b$
$sqrt(x^2 + y^2)$
$sum_(i=1)^n i$
$integral_0^1 f(x) dif x$

Typst advantages: instant compilation, simpler syntax, modern tooling. Typst limitations: smaller ecosystem, fewer journal templates, no arXiv support yet.

Tip: Typst is worth watching. For personal documents and notes, it’s faster and more pleasant than LaTeX. For anything you’ll submit to a journal or share with collaborators who expect LaTeX, stick with LaTeX for now.

Comparison Matrix

  • LaTeX (local) | Speed: Slow | Quality: Best | Coverage: Full | Collaboration: Git | Export: PDF/HTML | Free: Yes | Offline: Yes
  • Overleaf | Speed: Slow | Quality: Best | Coverage: Full | Collaboration: Real-time | Export: PDF | Free: Freemium | Offline: No
  • Google Docs | Speed: Fast | Quality: Fair | Coverage: Limited | Collaboration: Real-time | Export: DOCX | Free: Yes | Offline: No
  • Word | Speed: Fast | Quality: Good | Coverage: Good | Collaboration: Real-time | Export: DOCX/PDF | Free: Paid | Offline: Yes
  • Notion | Speed: Fast | Quality: Good | Coverage: KaTeX set | Collaboration: Real-time | Export: MD/PDF | Free: Freemium | Offline: Partial
  • Obsidian | Speed: Fast | Quality: Good | Coverage: MathJax set | Collaboration: Plugins | Export: MD | Free: Yes | Offline: Yes
  • Jupyter | Speed: Fast | Quality: Good | Coverage: MathJax set | Collaboration: JupyterHub | Export: HTML/PDF | Free: Yes | Offline: Yes
  • Typst | Speed: Instant | Quality: Very Good | Coverage: Growing | Collaboration: Planned | Export: PDF | Free: Yes | Offline: Yes

    Exercises

    1. Write the same set of five equations in Notion, Obsidian, and Jupyter. Note which commands work in all three and which are tool-specific.
    2. Create a GitHub README with inline and display math. Verify it renders on github.com.
    3. Compare UnicodeMath syntax (Word) with LaTeX syntax for 10 common expressions. Which do you find more intuitive?
    4. Install Typst and typeset a one-page document with the same content as a LaTeX document. Compare the experience.