In my previous post Eigendecomposition I shared one way to intuitively think about eigendecomposition. Here, I’ll show its applications and how to slay your programming interview.

Spoilers ahead.

I also mentioned 3Blue1Brown’s playlist on linear algebra (sidenote: Playlist.) in my previous post. At the end of chapter 14, he leaves a puzzle for the audience (sidenote: Puzzle. ) . I’ll show the workings of it, so don’t blame me for spoiling the fun. You’ve been warned.

Mathematics textbooks will sometimes explain structures and concepts in terms of formulas and how to compute them, instead of an explanation that aims to yield intuitive understanding. Especially, since they do require a solid foundation.

I suggest any reader that finds themselves aware of this situation, always stop and ponder on each subject to really grasp what it means. Feel free to access other resources to see the matter from different perspectives.