One of the school math topics that I have made us of a lot is function transformation and translation. Being able to see things like "what I really need here i

One of the school math topics that I have made us of a lot is function transformation and translation. Being able to see things like "what I really need here is this part of a sine curve, stretched along the X axis, compressed along the Y axis, and moved up into the positive", and then write a simple one-liner to do slideshow animation, has proven useful again and again. To be honest, I didn't really understand the point of it during class, and actually failed that part of the exam. A few years later when I needed it, it just popped out of my brain attic and made sense.