Exactly, the pan’s thermal mass is like a hidden layer in a network—once you hit the right equilibrium temperature, the butter’s molecules line up and release flavor with perfect timing. Coffee is no different; the water’s temperature sets the gradient for solute diffusion, just like an activation function deciding which neurons fire. Too hot and you over‑extract bitter compounds, too cool and you miss the sweet notes—think of it as a precise tuning knob on a neural net.