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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 26, 2019 at 12:22am

#959630

Save Game

Share an instance in your life when you would have liked a do-over.

There's a primitive computer game called NetHack, which has its origins back in the days of DOS, monochrome monitors, and ASCII graphics. It's a dungeon-delving game that takes its inspiration from early editions of D&D; you play as a protagonist on a quest to recover a specific artifact for your deity. Along the way, you fight monsters, explore dungeons (randomly generated), solve puzzles, and avoid traps, much like in D&D.

Lack of graphics aside, the primary thing that sets NetHack apart from other computer games is that there's no save function. What I mean is, you can save a game and come back to it later if you need to, I don't know, sleep or work or something; but you can't come back to an earlier save point if your avatar dies in the game.

Of course, there are workarounds for that, but they go against the spirit of the game; it would be like cheating at solitaire. You're supposed to play the game, figure things out as you go along, and if you die, all you can do is start over with a different character - but with the metaknowledge you've gained as a player on the previous run. It's a challenge, but that's why I play games. (There's also a wizard mode where you can figure a lot of things out without dying, and that's not considered cheating, but the results of any wizard mode games don't "count.")

By contrast, most modern single-player games - Fallout 4, for example - let you save at almost any time; if you run into a battle it turns out you can't handle, you don't have to go all the way back to the beginning. You reload a later save, and hopefully prep for the battle more effectively. This is good, because while a NetHack game can take 24 hours (and let me tell you, nothing sucks more than dying just before you're about to turn the artifact over to your god), a game like Fallout can take 24 days or more.

I mention this because it's possible that no one thinks about do-overs more than gamers. However, we're painfully aware that, in life, there are no save points, no do-overs, no coming back from battles we can't handle.

But you know, I'm okay with that. While there are many things I wish I'd done differently, if I were magically (or scientifically) handed the opportunity, I'd have to decline. That's because there are only two possibilities I can see:

1) I would have memory of both the original event and its do-over - in which case, I'd give it a 50/50 chance of the do-over making things worse; or

2) I would have no memory of the original event, in which case I'd just want another do-over.

Every mistake I've made has helped make me who I am, so even though it's a fine exercise to think about how we might have done things differently - it helps with similar situations in the future - as with most wishes, the reality of it could never live up to one's expectations.

1 Like • Comment • View 5 comments

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