wrote...
pivotTables with a super-dooper backend can do better math faster than
you can

OK, use a PivotTable to invert a matrix. Just show us the details.

There's a remote chance databases can perform arithmetic faster than
spreadsheets (unlikely though). However, if LIKE YOU some poor naive user
knows squat all about how to string arithmetic operations together to, say,
invert matrices, then wouldn't it be faster just to use Excel's MINVERSE
rather than spend weeks ranting and not performing? Of course that assumes
said poor naive user wants to do something useful UNLIKE YOU.

and again, for the record.. all math--- anywhere in the world-- breaks
down into simple operators

True. All it takes is knowing how to string those simple operations
together. Something you evidently DON'T know how to do.

i mean.. SQL is more powerful than excel.. it can handle real-life
datasets.

it can . . .

apparently do anything EXCEPT the matrix operations I've asked you to do. So
is SQL deficient or is Aaron deficient or both? The world may never know
about SQL, but in your case the answer is clear.

What do you do when you have an XLS that is too complex, heavy to fit
inside of Excel anymore??

YOU HAVE TO REWRITE IT FROM SCRATCH

Not necessarily. If it's doing a lot of data management, then it's time to
put the data management into a database. But it it's calculation-intensive,
databases aren't necessarily the way to go. SAS, S-Plus or R, maybe, or
MatLab.