"The answer is in your backpack."

While surfing NetFlicks, Ron was particularly intrigued by the recommendations. He had recently watched Kung Fu Panda, and now his recommendation tab was full of similar animated films and series.

When he logged in from his elder brother Fred's account, a big sitcom fan, the recommendations were utterly different. From Brooklyn 99 to The Big Bang Theory, Fred's homepage was full of suggestions suited to his taste. This fascinated Ron since he had logged into both the accounts from the same computer!

The next day, burning with curiosity, he went straight to his math teacher, Ms. Minerva.

“Why are NetFlicks’ recommendations personalized and accurate?”

“Well, the answer lies in the equations chapter of your math book.”

“Like most things around us, movie recommendation systems largely depend on math and data. Even though the actual equation is quite sophisticated and uses complex mathematical functions, it is essentially an equation.”

Ron stared at her as if she had just told him ghosts were real.

Looking at Ron's expression, she explained the concept in layman terms for the 11-year-old by writing the following equation on the whiteboard:

Movie Recommendation= (RXG) + T + (HXP)

where R= Rating
           G= Genre
           T= Trending quotient
           H= History of the user
           P= Popularity in peers

“The bright minds at NetFlicks analyze every user's data to recommend the next show to binge-watch based on these factors.”

Later that evening, Ron googled equations and their applications in daily life. He was amazed to learn the deep intertwining of equations in everyday life. From investment firms to travel enterprises, companies rely heavily on equations to calculate multiple entities, like their running costs and profit & loss statements.

Too much to learn in one day, he decided to spend the rest of the evening nibbling popcorn and watching Alita: The Battle Angel on Netflicks.

When Alita questioned her "equation" with Ido, the doctor, Ron's head started spinning. He couldn't help but wonder what the result would be if he googled “equations for human relationships”?