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 |    Not for the faint of art. |
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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. ![Merit Badge in Quill Award
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| As yesterday was National Beer Day, I can't even right now. But I'm going to try anyway. I've encountered this writer before, with very mixed results. Over the past three years, I’ve read more than 200 non-fiction books. Must be nice to have that kind of time. I'm retired and I don't have that kind of time. I’ve dived into Philosophy, Marketing, Productivity, Evolution, History, Biographies, and many other books you read to learn something. No wonder I've encountered him before; a lot of those are my thing too. One thing I’ve noticed is that non-fiction books of the past ten years are not boring to read. Gotta agree with that point. People shy away from non-fiction on principle, I think, the way I avoid jazz and opera. Then he segués into the actual topic of the post, non-non-fiction, aka fiction. I’ve made a list of 7 fiction books that have inspired me. You won’t find the cliché books on this list. We all know The Catcher In The Rye, Lord Of The Flies (I really hate that book, it’s so obvious), To Kill A Mocking Bird, and so forth. Also gotta agree on Lord of the Flies. Thinly-veiled anti-humanist propaganda. Okay, not even veiled. 1. Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple This book was recommended to me by a reader. It’s not something I would stumble upon myself. Too good for it? Where’d You Go, Bernadette is an entertaining and creative novel about weirdoes in Seattle. Nope. Next? 2. Naïve. Super by Erlend Loe Another funny and entertaining book. Loe is from Norway, and I like his minimal style. It’s a story about a young kid who’s searching for meaning in life. While minimalist styles appeal to me, I'm still thinking "Oh, another kid searching for the meaning of life, probably born from the author's inner child navel-gazing." Next? 3. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky Let’s get a little serious. This book is an examination of human suffering. If this book doesn’t change the way you think about people, nothing will. I've actually never tackled this one, but always thought I should -- until I read this article. I'm starting to think that maybe this author is more of a negative example. As in, if he likes it, I won't. 4. Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk The only very familiar book on this list. I’ve referred to this book more often and I still enjoy it after all these years. Okay, look, that book was made into one of my all-time favorite movies. Not because of the surface elements that people tend to focus on, but more about the subtext. I never read the book. But I made the mistake, once, of trying to read a different book by Palahniuk, and... I'll just stick to the movie, thanks. 5. Ask The Dust by John Fante My favorite writer, Charles Bukowski, was influenced by Fante. In Ask The Dust, you read the story of Arturo Bandini, a struggling writer in 1930s Los Angeles. "Write what you know" is questionable advice in the first place (I prefer "know what you write"), and writers writing about writing writers is the worst kind of cliché. I'm going to go out on a limb here and predict that the story involves a torrid affair, probably with a much younger woman. I could be wrong, but I'm just not feeling it. (I'll read the hell out of Bukowski, though.) 6. Death With Interruptions by Jose Saramago We all die, right? But what if that wasn’t the case? A lot of people are afraid of death, but in this novel, people don’t have to be afraid anymore. Because on the first day of the new year, no one dies. Yawn. 7. Cathedral by Raymond Carver Because Raymond Carver wrote short stories, he’s never included in any ‘top novels’ lists. And that’s a shame. No opinion, but given the rest of this list, pass. Again, I could be way off about these things. Maybe they're worth reading. Maybe not. This article doesn't sell me on the former, though. If I were to tackle any of them, though, it'd be Dostoyevsky, because Russians have a wonderful optimistic attitude toward life and love happy endings. That's sarcasm. Except for the part about wanting to read it. Anyone here ever read any of these? I think I'll need a second opinion. Otherwise I'm inclined to read literally any other book than the ones listed here. |
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