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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:

Elisa the Bunny Stik

May 29, 2024 at 9:02am
In response to "Ordinary Average Guy"

I think we need to be careful about saying there's no difference in socializing between online and off. I saw the following in response to a comment about discussions of gender online and the stances taken by LGBTQ community members that are chronically online:

"Truth. I had to stop looking for queer spaces online because it was full of this and angry exclusion discourse. I found some queer spaces offline and it reminded me that most people are normal and chill."

This is a topic I will likely be visiting in my journal in July. I figured I'd at least get this response in here first as a warm-up.

1 Like

Elisa the Bunny Stik

May 28, 2024 at 1:46pm
In response to "Long in the Tooth"

I feel I was too busy as a teen to screw around in convenience stores. On the rare occasion I wasn't at school or working, I tended to hang out by myself. If I hung out with friends, it was usually at someone's house (rarely mine).

Elisa the Bunny Stik

May 27, 2024 at 11:42am
In response to "Olive It And More"

Every once in a while, someone will misread the order slip and give me green peppers, which are an abomination, instead of green olives.

They truly are an abomination. If you're going to put peppers on a pizza, make sure it's anything but those little soggy cardboard slice things. Hell, even poblanos would be a major upgrade.

1 Like

Elisa the Bunny Stik

May 27, 2024 at 11:38am
In response to "Coming Up the Pike"

Man, people on Fandom Secrets would be aghast at how much you like Strange New Worlds. Personally, I haven't seen much of it. However, I did watch an episode at the gym once and found it enjoyable. It gave me that fascinated feeling I had when watching The Next Generation as a kid.

1 Like

Elisa the Bunny Stik

May 27, 2024 at 11:13am
In response to "Burgundy"

I will admit that I'm not much of a wine drinker. I've had reds and whites but tend to prefer reds. Then again, when it comes to booze, I tend to prefer things that are more intense in flavor. White wines...tend not to be that way for me.

2 Like

Elisa the Bunny Stik

May 27, 2024 at 10:38am
In response to "Distrust the Process"

That being said, I do think that people going out of their way to demonize ultra-processed foods are causing just as many issues as lobbyists are. These folks' actions exacerbate eating disorders and nervous thinking around food insecurity in equal measure. I wish the conversation around this set of actions was louder.

3 Like

Elycia Lee ☮

May 27, 2024 at 10:31am
In response to "Distrust the Process"

To me, as long food is 100% natural, then it is healthy. Pretty much like fruits, veggies and rice. I know people have thoughts about whether rice is good or not, but it is natural food so... I shall go with that.

2 Like

Kåre Enga in Montana

May 25, 2024 at 3:13pm
In response to "Plan Solo"

I'm more introverted than extroverted, but my only apprehension involves language and cultural barriers.

I'm bi- or ambi- but... always annoying. I waver between wanting to be left alone and not wanting to be alone.

I make my adjustments as necessary.

But LANGUAGE and CULTURE: true barriers that can cause problems for some and angst for me. I love strangers but find it frustrating when I can't connect.

For Belgium: make those plans soon. Today's connectivity means booking lodging in advance. In the old days it was show-up-and-ask-if-they-have-a-room. Still possible but not recommended unless cost is not an issue.

I prefer staying in hostels but rarely join in 'events'. I have gone out with fellow travelers however.

Kåre Enga in Montana

May 25, 2024 at 2:58pm
In response to "Banned Camp"

I remember when the movie "Brokeback Mountain" received "F"s from folks who basically commented that they would never NEVER watch such filth. Even those who liked or enjoyed it missed the main theme of poverty (financial, cultural, individual...). Personally, I preferred the short story to the movie. Both made a point that America didn't/doesn't want to face: choice and lack of choice.

That said, if someone were to ban my poetry I could probably live off of the notoriety.

Burning at the stake though seems a more likely outcome.

2 Like

🌕 HuntersMoon

May 25, 2024 at 11:32am
In response to "Banned Camp"

"Any book worth banning is a book worth reading." Isaac Asimov

2 Like

May 20, 2019 at 12:15am

#959306

Cycles

What time of day are you most motivated? Least motivated? For me, I’m most motivated and productive in the morning, and least in the mid afternoon around 2pm. What do you do to renew your motivation in those slumps?

As someone who finds motivation elusive at the best of times, I'm not sure how to respond to this one. But I'll give it a shot.

The idea that we're better off doing certain things at different times of day has some evidence for it. Here's an example:

https://www.outsideonline.com/2278086/timing-everything-and-everything-timing

If you consciously pay attention to timing, you can dramatically improve your performance, and you can dramatically improve yourself.

(This is probably the first and last time I'll ever link to Outside magazine. I mean... "Outside." Shudder.)

I was reading that because I did start to wonder - and therefore, I Googled - what's the best time of day to do a workout. According to that article, from what I gather from it anyway, the answer is: it depends on what you're trying to do.

It would make sense, then, if the same logic applied to other types of activity, including the relative inactivity of, say, sitting down to write something.

My work used to involve a lot of sitting around at the computer - much as my hobbies do now. Back then, when I was shoehorned into a roughly 8-to-5 schedule, I did notice a trend: I could get work done at anytime, including the many hours of overtime I pulled, but almost every day, around 3-4 pm, I'd get tired. Like, pass-out-in-a-coma tired. This wasn't the same kind of inertia that always clogged my mornings (because I'm not a morning person and I never did get a taste for coffee), but rather a shutdown, almost like my narcoleptic friend. But where she couldn't stay awake no matter how much she wanted to, I could usually force my eyes to remain open - but I wasn't worth a damn when I did.

On the other hand, if I was able, somehow, to nap around that time, I'd get a period of great energy going around 5-7pm - you know, about the time most office grunts like me had already gotten off of work.

But, I've found, I do my best work around midnight - and this is true even now; it's why I get these entries in around 12-1 am (I'm in the same time zone as WDC).

Because of that, I found it difficult to get to sleep then, and consequently, had trouble waking up between 7-8 am - and the cycle continued.

One of the things I promised myself upon retirement was that I'd sleep when I was tired - barring, of course, important events. This led to my current biphasic sleep cycle - which, probably not coincidentally, has me falling asleep for an hour or two in the late afternoon.

Even then, it varies. Sometimes I'm up until 4am. Sometimes I'm asleep by 2. Rarely, my afternoon nap turns into a four-hour snoozefest. But one constant is that I feel most creative and productive, writing-wise, in the hours immediately around midnight.

And my workouts? Noon-ish, usually. Probably not ideal according to that despicable link above, but that's about when I go, "You know, I probably should go ahead and get my gym time in before I get tired this afternoon."

I'll tell you what, though - it's been a few years since I could unfetter myself from the shackles of an office job, and I still revel in the luxury of being able to (most days) get up whenever the fuck I feel like it. And it is a luxury, I know - but when I'm up, I'm up. No snooze buttons, no missing alarms, no dragging ass into the shower... just up and showered and dressed and ready to do day stuff.

Just another of the great things about being me, I guess.

1 Like • Comment • View 2 comments

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