Math Keyboard

A Keyboard That Makes Work a Little More Fun ... and Efficient

My favorite hobby is woodworking, and the funny thing about that hobby is how much of it is really tool making. Before you build a piece of furniture, you often make little gadgets that make the real job possible. I take a similar view in economics. A bit of careful tool building at the start can make the rest of the work far more effective.

One of those tools for me has turned out to be a custom keyboard running the open source firmware QMK. The one pictured on the right looks fairly ordinary, but it has picked up a few tricks that make my day go more smoothly. I can type common LaTeX commands with a single key press, and even the caps lock key, normally more trouble than it is worth, now handles symbols and shortcuts I use constantly.

My office keyboard (dz60)

QMK allows you to program the behavior of every key. For example, when I hold caps lock and tap U, the keyboard outputs \theta. Hold caps lock and shift and tap U, and you get \Theta. I also have shortcuts that insert full LaTeX environments like \align* and then move the cursor back to the center so I can keep typing without breaking my rhythm. Over time the keyboard has become something familiar and well worn, the way a good hand tool feels after you have shaped it to your work.

QMK is free, open source, and surprisingly approachable. If you can handle a bit of tinkering and maybe tolerate a small amount of C, you can customize a keyboard far more deeply than you might expect. I have linked my keymap below for anyone who wants to borrow it or build on it.

A quick note on flashing firmware:

It sounds intimidating, but getting a wired QMK keyboard fully customized is surprisingly simple. Modern boards make the process almost routine, and the documentation walks through each step in a very approachable way. A recent development is that Keychron has forked the standard QMK library to support their wireless boards, which means you can now get the same level of customization without giving up a clean desk setup. I use one of these wireless boards at home and it has worked remarkably well. The process for flashing it is nearly identical to the standard version, and below I have included keymaps for both. For what it is worth, I have never had good mileage with Bluetooth and instead prefer the 2.4 wireless versions, but YMMV.

Optional rabbit holes for the curious:

Keycaps
You do not need special keycaps to use a custom keymap, but a set with Greek sub-legends can be helpful when you are getting started. I have linked the set I use. Just know that collecting keycaps is its own little universe.

Switches
Many modern boards are hot swappable which means you can experiment with switches without soldering. I keep quieter switches in my office keyboard and louder, more tactile ones at home. If you ever want to try out different varieties, I have plenty you can test.

Downloads and Links:

My QMK keymap: [V2Max]| [DZ60]
QMK firmware: https://qmk.fm
Keychron QMK supported boards: [V Max Series] | [Q Series]
Greek keycaps (optional): [Red & Black] | [Blue and White]

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