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Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024

11:44am EST

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Complex Numbers

by Waltz Invictus

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:

Annette

about 24 hours ago
In response to "Neutral Zone"

It made me happy that I was able to like it. I take the small victories.

1 Like

tj-Merry Mischief Maker

a day ago
In response to "To Err Is Human"

Right from the beginning I find myself asking, "How many times can anything go extinct?" On a side note, the other day while shopping I saw a neanderthal in the produce section. He was trying to fit in with modern clothes, but it was pretty obvious he was a neanderthal.

1 Like

Annette

a day ago
In response to "To Err Is Human"

Comments work.

"Like" button sends me this message:

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Annette

a day ago
In response to "To Err Is Human"

Can I leave this comment?

Wordsmitty ✍️

Dec 19, 2024 at 9:03pm
In response to "Five Seconds"

Way, way back when I was little, it was a three second rule that I remember. Sometime since it was upped to five seconds because of all the chemical preservatives that are pumped into everything now.

1 Like

tj-Merry Mischief Maker

Dec 19, 2024 at 3:43pm
In response to "Five Seconds"

I also ate carrots right out of the garden growing up, I also picked and ate fruits and berries growing in the wild without washing. I do remember food dropped on the floor was either rinsed off and then eaten, or if it was something not easily rinsed, like buttered toast buttered side down, we gave it to the dog.

In our house, there's not a five second rule; unless it's something dogs can't eat, it's whichever one gets it first.

2 Like

🌖 HuntersMoon

Dec 19, 2024 at 8:53am
In response to "Five Seconds"

2 Like

Aiva Raine

Dec 17, 2024 at 7:39pm
In response to "Need for Speed"

Even with the actual explanation- it still left me going- sooooo what's the difference between the special expensive "speed tape" they use for "temporary fixes" and duct tape? LOL- sure sounds like duct tape to me and they are using it for exactly the same reasons you would use duct tape. I'm guessing that the only difference between it and duct tape is the "speed tape" is slightly stronger and handles temperature differences better. It still comes down holding the plane together with tape which doesn't exactly fill me with confidence. Especially if it's a Boeing plane.

1 Like

tj-Merry Mischief Maker

Dec 17, 2024 at 6:14pm
In response to "Need for Speed"

I suppose they call it speed tape to keep people calm. If they called it what it is, temporary repair tape, they may lose passengers.

2 Like

Waltz Invictus

Dec 17, 2024 at 9:43am
In response to "Need for Speed"

Ichabod Crane-- Mince Pie

, I've heard that speed tape is extremely expensive. I can only assume the maintenance guys at Delta got a five-finger discount. But if you're going to steal from work, might as well go big and not just lift a box of paper clips.

1 Like

September 27, 2024 at 11:05am

#1077349

Bibo Ergo Sum

Mystery solved! (Maybe.) According to the guide yesterday, at least, the city of Tours is named after the Celtic tribe that used to live there. I guess it's kind of like America where we ran off or killed all the natives then named some towns and rivers after them. But it turns out that the city's coat of arms features three black towers. Yes, that's right, the city's heraldry is a pun.

That sort of thing isn't unheard of. The only other one I can think of off the top of my head, though, is the Northern England town of Berwick, whose coat of arms features... a bear.

This wasn't the only thing I learned yesterday, during my guided tour of some of the wine country east of Tours. Another cave was involved, this one belonging to a winery in Vouvray. Vouvray being some of my favorite wine, this particular tour was the primary reason for my trip, and it did not disappoint.

Part of the reason Vouvray tastes like ambrosia of the gods, while other wines made with chenin blanc grapes in other areas of the world taste like piss, is that there's a unique combination of soil, climate, and process (among other factors) in this tiny part of France. What I learned was that part of the terroir is because they force the vines to dig their roots deep, very deep (the guide said something like 10 meters is possible) into the ground, where they delve into limestone.

Limestone is a fossil rock. Billions of years ago, tiny sea creatures died and their skeletons built up and got compressed and turned into limestone over the eons. So the flavor of my favorite wine owes its greatness to the death of these long-ago organisms, thus demonstrating once again the circle of life.

And also, it seems Tours has a thing for Rene Descartes, the scientist/mathematician/philosopher I'm sure I've mentioned in here hundreds of times. One example is here: "I Drink Therefore I Am"

I understand he was born in Tours, or at least somewhere nearby. My hotel was, in fact, right next to a statue of him, inscribed with his most famous quote.

7 Like • Comment • View 1 comment

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