I think the problem is that trig gets taught as "triangles", when it's really the math of waves and rotation. That's why it feels useless while you're quietly using it all day:

• Every JPEG and MP3 is literally a sum of cosines. JPEG slices an image into 8×8 blocks and stores each one as weights on cosine patterns (the discrete cosine transform), then throws away the high-frequency weights your eye won't miss. MP3 and AAC do the same for sound.
• GPS turns satellite timing into distances, then into a latitude/longitude on a sphere. The "distance between two coordinates" in every maps app is the haversine formula, which is pure spherical trig.
• Anything that rotates on a screen (games, CAD, phone orientation) is sin/cos in a rotation matrix.

@Scoresby, since you built a house: the one place it shows up directly is roof framing. Rafter length = run ÷ cos(pitch angle). For a 6/12 pitch (26.6°) over a 12 ft run, that's 13.4 ft, not 12. Framers skip the math because the speed square and rafter tables have it baked in.

So I'd agree with the conclusion but not the reason. Most people don't need to compute trig. But "periodic things can be broken into sine waves" is one of the most useful ideas in engineering, and statistics won't teach you that.