A year ago, I took a math exam for a job application. I passed the exam, made it to the interviews, and actually got qualified for the training. Eventually, I decided not to take that opportunity, and I chose to pursue the job that I have right now. But this article is not about that missed job or any jobs. This is about a particular math problem in the math exam. It was so interesting that I told myself I would write about it. And after 1 year, here it is. The problem went like this: It is 2:00. What time will the hour hand and the minute hand make a straight line together? Before this exam, I had never solved a problem like this. I had no idea where to begin (let alone solve it). I could skip this problem and not give a fuck about this 1 point. But I did not. I wanted to solve it not for the point, but for the sake of solving it. I wanted to prove to myself that my knack for geometry from high school was still sitting behind my brain, awaiting to be tapped. I so began thinking. ...