Search where?

This Portfolio (cathartes02)

All of Writing.Com

◄ September ► 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
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

9:12pm EDT

Members: 964

Guests: 4,837

Total Online: 5,801

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 5 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

September 1, 2020 at 12:08am

#992001

Cheese? What Kind of Cheese? I Want Brie

Hm. Another WDC birthday week. That means I'll be 16 soon. Can I have a car? I was promised a flying one.

PROMPT September 1st

Happy 20th Birthday, WDC!

I know this is cheesy, but I have to do it... In your entry today, write about what you love about Writing.Com. How have you grown as a writer? How are you (as a writer) different from how you were when you first joined this site? Thank the members who helped you get where you are today.

You know, my hesitation on prompts like this is not that it's cheesy. I can do cheesy. It's that I've been here for just short of 16 years, and no matter how much I try, there is no way I wouldn't forget someone significant if I tried to list all of the people who are important to me here. And, sadly, some of them have left the site and others... well, they've left far more than the site. Everyone that I've interacted with over the years -- occasionally unpleasantly, usually quite the opposite -- has helped to make me what I am today. That includes you, since you're reading this. But also everyone who enters the Writer's Cramp, organizers and participants in the October NaNo Prep Challenge, anyone whose work I've reviewed or has reviewed mine, all those who have given me awardicons and Merit Badges (and vice versa), those who take the time to give me feedback on my newsletters or comment in this blog, anyone whose blog or newsfeed I follow, the members I've exchanged IMs with, the many who I've met in person, those I occasionally talk to on Zoom... everyone.

That helps to address the earlier parts of the prompt, though. No matter what else, it's the people that make this site what it is. Oh, the setup is important, of course -- we'll get to that in a bit -- but it would be empty without you.

How have I grown as a writer? Well. I'm not sure I know how to answer that. I'm the worst judge of my own stuff. I mean, sure, sometimes I look back at stuff I wrote back in the noughties when I first joined, and I'd forgotten I wrote it, and it makes me laugh. Other times it makes me cringe (but I keep it around anyway). I expect if I'm still here in another 16 years, I'll say the same thing about this year's output.

I just don't know. I think I've improved -- I hope I've improved -- but I have no objective measure on that. Changed? Sure. I have more confidence now, but I also have a better idea of my limitations.

Aside from the people themselves, as I mentioned above, there are several things about this site that I think help anyone grow as a writer. The most obvious of these is reviewing. When done with intent, it can really help a writer determine what works and what needs work. And reviewing itself is an exercise in writing. Also, even the most cursory review at least lets you know someone's reading your stuff. I don't do enough of it, myself; I will work on that in the future.

I know I said I didn't want to thank anyone individually, but I'd be horribly remiss if I didn't call out three specific individuals for thanks. The first two are obvious: The StoryMistress

and The StoryMaster

. They've built a great community and a wonderful platform for all of us. I know very little about web coding and even less about graphic design, so their work might as well be sorcery for all I understand it.

The third to thank is maybe not so obvious to anyone else: Artemismad

, who, approximately sixteen years ago this week, first told me about the site. Without her recommendation, I might not be here at all. Yeah, I know, some of you don't see the downside to that.

Before I go, I need to announce the Merit Badge winner from yesterday.

Mini-Contest Results!

Great comments, all. I don't really have the time, tonight, to address all of them individually, but I did appreciate every one, which made it hard to pick just one as a favorite.

But I'm going to go with ⭐Princette♥PengthuluWrites

, who wrote:

I hope for Cthulhu to awaken in September and put us all out of our misery. I figure, considering how 2020 is going, that's not as farfetched as it might otherwise seem. If Cthulhu doesn't rise in September, I'm putting it down for December. Gotta end the year in style, right?

Because I can totally see that happening. Not in September though. Or December. But this is going to take a bit of an explanation.

One of my favorite writers was Roger Zelazny. He, sadly, died back in the 90s. His last full novel before he left us was titled A Night in the Lonesome October, and you can probably call it my favorite book. I don't want to spoil the thing too much, but basically, the premise is this: On certain rare occasions, it is possible for the door to the realm of the Elder Gods to be swung wide, releasing eldritch horrors to doom us all. Possible, that is, but not certain; it hasn't happened yet (in the story).

What is this rare occasion? It is a full moon falling on Halloween.

Guess what's happening for real on Halloween 2020. Go ahead. Take a wild guess.

Point is, ⭐Princette♥PengthuluWrites

gets the MB this time, but I'll do this again soon so there will be more chances. Yes, even with the 30DBC running.

10 Like • Comment • View 6 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/9-1-2020

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 0.73 seconds at 9:12pm on Apr 24, 2024 via server web1.