I never liked \(n\times n\) determinants when I was a student, and I still don’t. They are boring, “detailish,” definitely not gut–level. As a teacher, I always felt like apologizing for covering them. However, I can no longer postpone addressing them, as they are helpful in certain applications, such as Wronskians and implicit functions addressed later in this chapter. Therefore, let’s hold our noses and dive into the realm of determinants. [If you hate this material just as much as I do, I suggest you skip this chapter all together and come back as needed, or take my word for any result obtained here.]