Inverse Problem
A partner treats figuring out why someone is angry as a hard inverse problem, until the answer becomes obvious.
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Cartoon by Ben Orlin, Math with Bad Drawings. https://cartoons.mathwithbaddrawings.com/2017-09-05-inverse-problem/ (CC BY-NC 4.0)Transcript
A: "Why are you mad at me?"
B: "It should be obvious."
A: "Not really. Inverse problems are notoriously hard. Many different inputs map onto the same output of anger."
[Silent panel]
A: "Oh! Are you mad because I'm substituting mathematical structures for emotional vocabulary?"
B: "See? Inverse problems aren't so hard."