(Side note: I find myself often trying to find a way to express grasp/control as a pair,
because really the two are the same. If you really grasp something, you should be
able to control it, at least in principle.)
Well, anything mathematical would be an exception to that, at the least.
Well, anything mathematical would be an exception to that, at the least.
If you really grasp something mathematical, you ought to be able to apply it—at least in principle.
OK but that’s not really what “control” normally means, is it? “Manipulate” might be a better word here.
“Manipulate” would also extend the thinking-as-holding metaphor of “grasp”.
(I have to admit that I was confused by “control” as well.)