Search where?

This Portfolio (cathartes02)

All of Writing.Com

◄ December ► 2020
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30	31
Archive				RSS

Offsite Blogs

· Waltz Travel Blog

Create New Item

Read & Review

Community

Browse By Type

Browse By Genre

Writing Resources

Wednesday, Apr. 24, 2024

6:53pm EDT

Members: 1,066

Guests: 3,318

Total Online: 4,384

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:

Aiva Raine

about 2 hours ago
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

a day ago
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

a day ago
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

Aennaytte: Free & Wild in GoT

a day ago
In response to "That's Cole"

I knew and ate Kohlrabi before I ever heard of kale. Kohlrabi is so much better in every way.

That last quoted sentence is hilarious. I am glad that I wasn't bred to be a Brussels Sprout.

1 Like

Aennaytte: Free & Wild in GoT

a day ago
In response to "Cash Stash"

The discussion of money is an interesting one. Remember the recent collapse of a few banks? I think it was about a year or so ago?
Yes, deposits were FDIC insured up to $250,000 per depositor. But some people and companies had more money in that bank than the FDIC was insuring.
I never followed up on what happened to those people. I don't run in circles of people who own that much cash.

My accounting professor took half a period to explain to us what happened and how the bank went from Silicone Valley darling to dead so fast.

He also told us that the value we give money is not backed by anything except our hope and faith that our economy will keep going.

We didn't discuss whether the value of money needed a lower income class of people.

1 Like

Aennaytte: Free & Wild in GoT

a day ago
In response to "Revisited: "Hack This""

In my last psychology class, we discussed the evolution of the brain. It is now settled science that we evolved to have not only larger, but also vastly more powerful brains than most other animals because we learned how to cook (process) our food.
Although we are only about 1/4 to 1/3 of a normal gorilla, we eat half of the calories in a day. Not only that, we prepare the food in a way that we get to use more of the calories that we ingest.
The result is that our brain takes up more space in our noggin than a gorilla brain takes up in his noggin. Not only that, each of our brain cells is smaller, so we can fit exponentially more of those into our head.

Now, using all that goodness ...

1 Like

Aennaytte: Free & Wild in GoT

a day ago
In response to "Hope for Hops"

Wait! Why are beer and coffee affected by climate change? That wasn't supposed to happen. All we had to do was have a boat by the side of the house for when the sea levels rise and beg our property insurance to cover fire damage. How are we supposed to remember all of that if we don't get coffee to wake us up in the morning so that we can think and beer at night to dull our sense of doom?

Aennaytte: Free & Wild in GoT

a day ago
In response to "Going to the Dogs"

I have never been to New York, but it seems that my assessment years ago that Berlin, Germany and New York have some similarities. Both cities are known for being inhabited by rude people. And both places, as I now found out, are dog obsessed. And they have high rents.
Berliners though, have a habit of letting their dogs run off leash. Maybe New York is a little better than Berlin in that regard.

1 Like

Robert Waltz

Apr 21, 2024 at 1:48pm
In response to "Revisited: "Hack This""

Wordsmitty ✍️, far be it from me to speculate on the motivations of space aliens, but why in Xenu's name would they do such a thing to the universe?

1 Like

Wordsmitty ✍️

Apr 21, 2024 at 1:39pm
In response to "Revisited: "Hack This""

I thought humans got bigger brains because extraterrestrials affected our evolution, and we eat processed chicken and eggs.

1 Like

December 5, 2020 at 12:02am

#999667

XXI

Today is, of course, the most important commemoration of the year.

"30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" [13+]:
5. Bonfire Night!
Tell us about an evening around a bonfire.

or

Prohibition Ends in the US, 1933
Write whatever you like about this.

"JAFBG" [XGC]
Some people think it's wrong to lie to children about the existence of holiday icons like Santa and the Easter Bunny. How do you think parents should handle this?

I visited a friend's house once, a woman with a bunch of stepchildren, all girls, who at the time were all preteens. I don't remember their exact ages but none of them rolled their eyes so they couldn't have been teens yet. So at this time, sometime in December several years ago, I was hanging out with her and her husband in the kitchen and the kids were right nearby, definitely within earshot, doing kid stuff. Obviously I don't remember too many details, but what I do remember is that the subject of Santa Claus came up. And me, not thinking, said something to the effect of "Of course, we all know Santa's not real."

Oops.

I haven't been invited back.

I'm not going to try to tell people how to raise their kids. They won't listen to me anyway, since I'm not in their sacred club of kid-raisers. Not that they listen to other kid-raisers, either.

But since you asked, I'm inclined to go with: Hell yeah. Lie to the little bastards. Lie ALL THE TIME (except, once in a while, throw in some truth just to keep them guessing). This way they will learn a valuable life lesson: no one is to be trusted. No one, not even your parents. Especially not your parents.

Maybe then you'll raise a generation of sprogs who end up growing up distrusting the bullshit they see on the internet, as opposed to our current generations, who seem to believe whatever suits them, all evidence to the contrary.

Or maybe not. I don't know. This is why I celebrate XXIst Amendment Day. The XXIst Amendment to the US Constitution is the one that repealed the XVIIIth Amendment, which was Prohibition. Clearly, in the XIII years or so between those two amendments, two others were ratified, the XIXth and the XXth. But I don't remember what those were about, nor can I be arsed to look it up because they cannot possibly be as important as the XXIst.

Incidentally, Roman numerals are dumb.

Point being, since I all the time gotta deal with other peoples' kids, whether they're still technically kids or have theoretically grown up, drinking helps. Prohibition itself was based a big lie, like Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny -- that banning booze would alleviate many social problems. These beliefs were well-meaning, but without evidence, and they didn't really think their cunning plan all the way through.

They got a big wake-up call from the Truth Fairy.

My personal theory is that Prohibition was the proximate cause of the Great Depression, and Repeal was the proximate cause of getting out of the Great Depression. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. But it's (probably) a lie.

I'd better wrap this up before I wax too philosophical about the nature of ideas and reality. Believing something doesn't make it so, but fictions have power, whether it be to convince a nation that they shouldn't be drinking, or convincing kids that a bearded white guy will give you nice things if you don't misbehave. Some people need to believe in something, I suppose. Me, I believe I'm going to have a commemorative drink.

11 Like • Comment • View 8 comments

© Copyright 2024 Robert Waltz (UN: cathartes02 at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
Robert Waltz has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.

Printed from https://www.writing.com/main/profile/blog/cathartes02/day/12-5-2020

Site Links:

Resources:

Need help?

Please post questions in
our support forum.

Places of Interest: Unique Wedding Invitations for unique wedding needs. Color Copiers found here.
Baby Names can be hard to pick. Hands-free hygenic toilet seats covers. Dramatic Music rocks.
Vampires are people too. Write Poetry here. Try this Stock Market quiz.
Teaching is a noble job. Get info on Tax Refunds.

All Writing.Com images are copyrighted and may not be copied / modified in any way.
All other brand names & trademarks are owned by their respective companies.

Generated in 0.63 seconds at 6:53pm on Apr 24, 2024 via server web1.