Exactly! In the real world you are trying to get some system (x^2 + x) into some desired state (2). In math class, we usually "pre-optimize" these equations to

Exactly! In the real world you are trying to get some system (x^2 + x) into some desired state (2). In math class, we usually "pre-optimize" these equations to (x^2 + x - 2 = 0) and they look very different from the situations you have to set up on your own. I want to make the connection explicit.