*Magnify*
SPONSORED LINKS
Printed from https://www.writing.com/main/profile/blog/cathartes02/day/6-25-2020
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.




Merit Badge in Quill Award
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on winning Best Blog in the 2021 edition of  [Link To Item #quills] !
Merit Badge in Quill Award
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on winning the 2019 Quill Award for Best Blog for  [Link To Item #1196512] . This award is proudly sponsored by the blogging consortium including  [Link To Item #30dbc] ,  [Link To Item #blogcity] ,  [Link To Item #bcof]  and  [Link To Item #1953629] . *^*Delight*^* For more information, see  [Link To Item #quills] . Merit Badge in Quill Award
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on winning the 2020 Quill Award for Best Blog for  [Link To Item #1196512] .  *^*Smile*^*  This award is sponsored by the blogging consortium including  [Link To Item #30dbc] ,  [Link To Item #blogcity] ,  [Link To Item #bcof]  and  [Link To Item #1953629] .  For more information, see  [Link To Item #quills] .
Merit Badge in Quill Award 2
[Click For More Info]

    2022 Quill Award - Best Blog -  [Link To Item #1196512] . Congratulations!!!    Merit Badge in Quill Award 2
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations! 2022 Quill Award Winner - Best in Genre: Opinion *^*Trophyg*^*  [Link To Item #1196512] Merit Badge in Quill Award 2
[Click For More Info]

   Congratulations!! 2023 Quill Award Winner - Best in Genre - Opinion  *^*Trophyg*^*  [Link To Item #1196512]
Merit Badge in 30DBC Winner
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on winning the Jan. 2019  [Link To Item #30dbc] !! Merit Badge in 30DBC Winner
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on taking First Place in the May 2019 edition of the  [Link To Item #30DBC] ! Thanks for entertaining us all month long! Merit Badge in 30DBC Winner
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on winning the September 2019 round of the  [Link To Item #30dbc] !!
Merit Badge in 30DBC Winner
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on winning the September 2020 round of the  [Link To Item #30dbc] !! Fine job! Merit Badge in 30DBC Winner
[Click For More Info]

Congrats on winning 1st Place in the January 2021  [Link To Item #30dbc] !! Well done! Merit Badge in 30DBC Winner
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on winning the May 2021  [Link To Item #30DBC] !! Well done! Merit Badge in 30DBC Winner
[Click For More Info]

Congrats on winning the November 2021  [Link To Item #30dbc] !! Great job!
Merit Badge in Blogging
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on winning an honorable mention for Best Blog at the 2018 Quill Awards for  [Link To Item #1196512] . *^*Smile*^* This award was sponsored by the blogging consortium including  [Link To Item #30dbc] ,  [Link To Item #blogcity] ,  [Link To Item #bcof]  and  [Link To Item #1953629] . For more details, see  [Link To Item #quills] . Merit Badge in Blogging
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on your Second Place win in the January 2020 Round of the  [Link To Item #30dbc] ! Blog On! *^*Quill*^* Merit Badge in Blogging
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on your second place win in the May 2020 Official Round of the  [Link To Item #30dbc] ! Blog on! Merit Badge in Blogging
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on your second place win in the July 2020  [Link To Item #30dbc] ! Merit Badge in Blogging
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on your Second Place win in the Official November 2020 round of the  [Link To Item #30dbc] !
Merit Badge in Highly Recommended
[Click For More Info]

I highly recommend your blog. Merit Badge in Opinion
[Click For More Info]

For diving into the prompts for Journalistic Intentions- thanks for joining the fun! Merit Badge in High Five
[Click For More Info]

For your inventive entries in  [Link To Item #2213121] ! Thanks for the great read! Merit Badge in Enlightening
[Click For More Info]

For winning 3rd Place in  [Link To Item #2213121] . Congratulations!
Merit Badge in Quarks Bar
[Click For More Info]

    For your awesome Klingon Bloodwine recipe from [Link to Book Entry #1016079] that deserves to be on the topmost shelf at Quark's.
Signature for Honorable Mentions in 2018 Quill AwardsA signature for exclusive use of winners at the 2019 Quill AwardsSignature for those who have won a Quill Award at the 2020 Quill Awards
For quill 2021 winnersQuill Winner Signature 20222023 Quill Winner

June 25, 2020 at 12:30am
June 25, 2020 at 12:30am
#986466
Entry 7 of 8 for "Journalistic Intentions [18+], as usual selected at random

7. The only reason I would take up jogging is so that I could fit back into my Wonder Woman costume.



Ever notice that no one gives a shit if a chick wears a Batman costume, but a dude who wears a Wonder Woman outfit would be subject to all kinds of ridicule?

This isn't just because there is, canonically, a Batgirl and a Batwoman, both of whom wear some version of the Batsuit. No, it reflects a deeper problem with gender roles in society.

I'm sure all y'all with liberal arts degrees have already figured this out, but it took me a while.

The problem is this, and I'm using superheroes because I'm familiar with them and because they're inherent to the prompt: female versions of male superheroes are acceptable, while male versions of female superheroes are not. Or, well, I could extend that to "costumed adventurers," because not all comic book heroes are "super." But let's just assume that I'm talking about the unpowered as well as the superpowered here, because superpowers are really irrelevant to the discussion.

So you had, say, Superman, right? And later on, his cousin Kara shows up and she's in the same brightly colored suit but with a skirt (the current incarnation on TV wears pants, but that's not really my point). I've already mentioned the Batchicks. Hulk, and She-Hulk (to be fair, they're very different except for their bright green color). Iron Man, Iron Heart (I'm just glad they didn't call her Fe-Male). Don't get me wrong; there's nothing inherently bad about any of this (though She-Hulk's creation was, shall we say, a bit problematic), but I can't think of even one single instance where it went in the other direction.

That is, take the original canonical female superhero, Wonder Woman, because she's in the prompt. You can't just dress up a guy in the same kind of outfit and call him Wonder Man (yes, I know there is a Wonder Man, but he's an entirely different character and, besides, not even in the same universe). Wonder Woman's origin and entire reason for being is tied up (that's a pun for her magic lasso) in her gender. Black Widow? I mean, you can't even imagine a Black Widower, can you? It doesn't even make sense. Squirrel Girl? I mean, how would you even?

Point is, it seems to be perfectly okay, culturally, for women to take on originally male roles, but it's never been the same for men taking on traditionally female roles. When it does happen, outside of the superhero world, it's seen as some sort of appropriation, or the men involved are seen as somehow less than fully masculine.

I assert that we won't achieve gender parity until this can go in both directions; that is, until it's not seen as "demeaning" for a male character to take on the mantle of one created as a female. Just think about how things would be different if it had been Supergirl first, and then Superman. Or Batwoman first, and then Batman.

There's no logical reason for this; it just reflects the old, entrenched cultural way of thinking, that traditionally male roles are seen as superior to the traditionally female roles. I think that's probably changing, but slowly. "It's okay for a girl to be a tomboy, but never okay for a boy to be a girly-boy."

And no, I'm not going to wade into the quagmire where all of this intersects with issues of sexuality or gender identity.

Comic books are, as I've noted before, a blend of fantasy and science fiction, along with a few other genres thrown in for spice. Fantasy is a really good way to hold up a mirror to our own society, and sometimes, we're not going to like what we see.

So if you ever see a guy jogging down the street in a Wonder Woman costume, try not to leap (over tall buildings in a single bound) to conclusions. Me? I don't think I could pull it off. I don't have the tits for it.


© 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/6-25-2020