For those of you who like mathematics, consider how calculus could benefit any small farm or business. It would improve the quality and profitability of the operations. On our farm, we could watch more details, collect more data, understand the data more thoroughly with algebraic equations, and then optimize the variables for cost and quality with simple calculus.

The Waterford Flint Glass Manufactory, as it was originally known, was established in Waterford, Ireland, in 1783. Business was good. So much so that very shortly the company, now called Waterford Crystal, re-located to its current home on a forty-acre site.

The excellence of Waterford Crystal is achieved by their in-house trained, highly skilled workforce. Uniformity is achieved by applying a precise amount of air into each piece of molten crystal at very specific points thus ensuring that each piece is as near perfect as physically possible.

Having completed the cooling process, each piece then has its facets and flutes hand-cut. A cutter’s apprenticeship takes five years to…