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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. |
Everything I needed to learn about love, I learned in kindergarten. I suppose it would be more accurate to say that everything I should have learned about love. See, there was this girl, Connie. At recess (or whatever they called it in kindergarten) I'd sit on a bench because I didn't know what else to do. Connie would come over, sit next to me and hold my hand. It was nice. This went on for, I don't know, days? Weeks? And then, one day, I saw Connie sitting on the bench with Troy, holding hands. Reflecting back on this now, as a grown-ass adult, I see a pattern that changed only in the details. You know how some (most?) guys, they'll meet someone, and their minds immediately skip ahead to the part where they're boning? I don't mean in kindergarten, you pervert; I mean as an adult. Anyway, me, my mind skips ahead to the part where she ends up on the bench holding hands with some other guy. And so I don't date anymore. What's the point? It's only going to end badly. |