This was the question I was asked during my master’s interview in mathematics. It was a simple question—so simple that even those who dislike math could answer it instantly.
But something felt off. Could it really be that easy? There had to be more to it.
I paused and thought: Where does this formula not hold? That’s when it struck me—MATRICES!
For matrices, (a + b)² ≠ a² + 2ab + b² in general. So, I asked the interviewer: Where do ‘a’ and ‘b’ belong?
They countered: Why does it matter?
That was my moment of realization. I explained that the formula holds in all the subsets of complex numbers but not necessarily for matrices. The key insight? It’s crucial to know where your variables come from.
And isn’t that true in life as well?
When we meet someone new, our first question is often “What’s your name?” But the second? “Where are you from?” Context matters. Understanding the origin of things—whether numbers, people, or ideas—shapes how we interpret and apply them.
That day, I learned a powerful lesson: Knowing where something comes from is just as important as knowing what it is.
