I’m 26 years out of high school, and I’ve used a lot of the algebra I’ve learned over the years at different jobs. This has allowed me to both appreciate and understand it better. But one thing I’ve never fully understood is Matrix Algebra. We spent a ridiculous amount of time on it in high school, but without ever receiving an explanation as to how we would end up using this in the future. Consequently, I’ve forgotten everything about it. I would also say I never really got it when they were teaching it to us, as I don’t do well on conceptual math versus practical math. So now I’m thinking back on the subject. Can anyone explain to me when matrix algebra comes in handy? And give an example of why it’s useful? thank you
***edited to matrix algebra, though couldn’t change title. Thought this was the plural of matrix…
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In: Mathematics
It’s used in calculations for rendering computer graphics. You can make a matrix that when you multiply a point by it, the resulting point does something specific such as translate or rotate it by a certain amount. You can also multiply a bunch of these matricies together to have a single matrix that does a bunch of operations all in one. This allows you to take a mesh of some model then take the points of that mesh and run it through the matrix multiplication to position the mesh where you want it in your rendered environment.
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