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Complex Numbers

by Robert Waltz

Rated: 18+ · Book · Personal · #1196512

Not for the faint of art.

Complex Numbers

A complex number is expressed in the standard form a + bi, where a and b are real numbers and i is defined by i^2 = -1 (that is, i is the square root of -1). For example, 3 + 2i is a complex number.

The bi term is often referred to as an imaginary number (though this may be misleading, as it is no more "imaginary" than the symbolic abstractions we know as the "real" numbers). Thus, every complex number has a real part, a, and an imaginary part, bi.

Complex numbers are often represented on a graph known as the "complex plane," where the horizontal axis represents the infinity of real numbers, and the vertical axis represents the infinity of imaginary numbers. Thus, each complex number has a unique representation on the complex plane: some closer to real; others, more imaginary. If a = b, the number is equal parts real and imaginary.

Very simple transformations applied to numbers in the complex plane can lead to fractal structures of enormous intricacy and astonishing beauty.

http://www.ddewey.net/mandelbrot/

Signature for Honorable Mentions in 2018 Quill Awards

A signature for exclusive use of winners at the 2019 Quill Awards

Signature for those who have won a Quill Award at the 2020 Quill Awards

Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

GeminiGem of House Lannister

a day ago
In response to "Supplementary"

Working in health care for a zillion years, I've heard it all. The whole thing about something being natural, therefore it would be good for a person is very, very, very...very prevalent. An internist I worked with had a fantastic comeback to that line of thinking. She would say, "Arsenic is natural, are you going to start taking that?"

1 Like

Lazy Writer est 4/24/2008

Apr 28, 2024 at 2:14pm
In response to "Revisited: "Exercise""

I will be 75 in July. My stepdaughter gave me a bike because I wanted to ride it again. Well, I started off shaky and stayed shaky...then I fell off it...A passing motorist stopped to help me get up...I have NOT been back on that bike and will not ever again.

🌕 HuntersMoon

Apr 28, 2024 at 10:43am
In response to "Revisited: "Exercise""

So, you're saying that now you pedal your ass differently?

Elisa the Bunny Stik

Apr 27, 2024 at 10:33am
In response to "Pleasure and Pain"

it illustrates why it's important to have people from different backgrounds, with different worldviews, working on scientific research.

This right here is why I get rather irritated by people poo-pooing college these days. I feel like that attitude effectively shits on minority populations that may not have strong finances but do possess persistent curiosity and want to learn about various subjects in-depth. In the 90s, these groups were exclusively told to go to trade schools even if they had the aptitude for college education. Nowadays the blanket "Everyone should consider a trade" mantra employs a more subtle (but still abundant) form of discrimination. I'm so over it.

1 Like

Kåre Enga going to Montana

Apr 25, 2024 at 3:16am
In response to "Going to the Dogs"

I have ants in Thailand. Will I miss them in Montana? No.

Would it be nice to have a cat and a dog, here or there? Yes, but I have struggles keeping my neglected plants alive.

Not every situation is suitable for everything or everybody.

Kåre Enga going to Montana

Apr 25, 2024 at 3:09am
In response to "Tipped Out"

I don't tip. In my travels I rarely find tipping the norm.

I also don't haggle.

When you add the tip... the true cost of America becomes evident. But what would I know? I travel while others who have double my income can't pay rent.

Kåre Enga going to Montana

Apr 25, 2024 at 2:58am
In response to "Reality Cubed"

My dreams may be different from your dreams but if we share them with others then some form of the dream may live on. Regardless, if we don't eat we die. "Joy gives us wings." "Reality bites."

Aiva Raine

Apr 24, 2024 at 4:26pm
In response to "Tipped Out"

Agreed. I'll tip and well, for actual waitstaff at restaurants. I'll tip appropriately for bell-staff who assists with luggage at hotels, the more luggage, the bigger the tip. I'll give a tip to the valet as well. Beyond that- I don't tip. Certainly no tip for the fast food workers, coffee baristas, grocery store clerks, etc.

It annoys me to no end that we're being asked to tip for all kinds of jobs where they are being paid an hourly wage. I've worked as a waitress when I was young and my daughter currently does. In those jobs- she absolutely depends upon proper tipping to make a decent wage. And I hate the fact that she is dependent upon tips to do so.

It leaves women especially at the mercy of arsh**() on whether she wants to accept hostile, negative, sexist, harassing, demeaning, and negative behavior from her customers in order to make a living. It condones people treating their waitstaff like shite in order to get paid. While there is much improvement from the 30 years ago when I was working as a waitress in the skimpy outfits we were forced to wear- it's still an issue at non-chain, independent owned restaurants and diners.

Women are left to the mercies of jerk customers and their only recourse is the manager who they have to hope supports their waitstaff rather than the jerk customer. Tipping should be eliminated. All employees should be paid a livable wage and waitstaff especially should not be dependent upon tolerating crappy to obscene behavior from customers in order to make a living.

But, until that happens- I always tip at least 20% and often times more. Very rarely have I tipped lower and the service in those situations was abysmal and they still got 10%.

1 Like

GeminiGem of House Lannister

Apr 23, 2024 at 6:51pm
In response to "Going to the Dogs"

I don't understand the intersection, either. I lived in a much smaller city and found that having dogs was a hassle (although it didn't stop me), what with the complainey neighbors, the extra licensing, etc. I live in a rural location now and it works great. I can't wrap my head around living in NYC with or without a dog, although I like the idea of a place that issues a canine and supplies upon moving there. Can that please be a thing?

1 Like

Lazy Writer est 4/24/2008

Apr 23, 2024 at 3:31pm
In response to "Going to the Dogs"

I love my little dog...but I live in a biggish house with a fenced backyard.

1 Like

November 27, 2018 at 12:32am

#946378

Have Your Kale and Eat It Too

I'm not on good terms with food.

I have almost no self-control, so left to my own devices, I'd be eating pizza and cheeseburgers every day.

It wasn't always that way. In a complete reversal of the way I've always heard things are supposed to be, I had more self-control when I was younger. I think I ran out, or maybe I just realized that having discipline never got me anywhere, while indulging myself got me immediate gratification. I figured I could force myself to eat kale, quinoa, and strawberries, hate life, and maybe get hit by a truck; or eat foods I actually enjoy like pepperoni pizza, and still maybe get hit by a truck after at least enjoying my meals.

Incidentally, I actually kinda like kale, quinoa, and strawberries - they're actually not bad mixed together, with maybe a bit of balsamic vinegar or lemon juice and olive oil - but if I had to eat that every day, I'd go looking for the truck.

It occurred to me that if I eat more healthy food, I might actually be fast enough to get out of the way of an oncoming truck, so I make the attempt. But I have to make it as automatic as I can, and ensure there's variety with, yes, the occasional indulgence that would give my cardiologist a heart attack, such as bacon or a grilled cheese sandwich. Or a grilled cheese sandwich with bacon. Dammit, now I'm hungry.

The key, I decided, was to take advantage of my innate laziness, and not get too complex with the food preparation. The less work I have to do, the less likely I am to say "Fuck it; I'm ordering pizza delivery." So I found a website that generates random meals based on calorie count targets, and it strives to balance macronutrients (carbs, protein, lipids) while providing a variety of fruits and vegetables.

The downside? It's not cheap, especially since I can't be arsed to drag my lazy self to the grocery store twice a week (if I only go once a week, everything spoils by day 7). Thus, I get delivery, as I mentioned a few entries ago. And there's a lot of wasted food. I haven't figured out how to use everything I buy before it spoils, since the food industry is hell-bent on making things difficult for singles unless they want to buy single-serving microwave meals. Like, say, one meal calls for celery and almond butter. The almond butter will last a long time, but I might use one stalk of celery out of the entire bunch, and the rest gets thrown away or fed to my housemate's guinea pigs. So my choice is: eat high-sodium prepackaged foods, no waste, and die of another heart attack; or buy fresh foods and be unable to use them all before they go bad.

Which reminds me of a story. One time when I was in a non-shit-giving phase, I went to the grocery store and loaded up on microwave meals, frozen pizzas, snack foods, beer, breakfast cereal, and other easy food. Went through the line and the cute cashier looked at my selection and asked, "So, you're single, huh?"

I chuckled. "How could you tell?"

"Because you're ugly."

Anyway, I could probably find a way to use the foods a little more efficiently, but that would take work to get the meal plans just right, and I'm allergic to work. It cuts into my game-playing time. Consequently, I usually just go with the random food it generates, and only change out meals if they involve food I can't stand.

So that's how I discovered that kale, quinoa, and strawberries makes for a pretty good salad. But I'd still rather have pizza.

8 Like • Comment • View 10 comments

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