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Complex Numbers
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.
November 10, 2021 at 12:03am November 10, 2021 at 12:03am
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This would depend upon their political affiliation.
PROMPT November 10th
Your neighbor’s hay crop is ready to harvest. Everyone in their family is sick and their Combine is broken. How do you respond to this situation?
Okay, no, not really. I'd help out regardless.
I'm actually not unfamiliar with combines or the process of harvesting field crops... though my experience is likely outdated now.
First of all, if my neighbor's a farmer, then I'm a farmer. In reality, this is too much work, which is the reason I'm not a farmer. But in this hypothetical situation, then I have farm equipment and I'd just use that.
Often, small farmers don't own their harvesters -- they'd have a tractor, because that's useful year-round, but a combine is something most farmers use once a year for a couple of days, and it makes more sense to rent one or participate in a cooperative. You know, like communism.
Or, maybe I could fix the combine. Like I said, I'm not without experience in that area, though a) the latest models have to be fixed by the company that sold them, which is bullshit and b) that's too much like work, too.
The real issue here, though, is: it's a hay crop, not wheat or barley or corn. The main purpose of a combine is to separate grain from straw (basically). No grain, no need for a combine. Hay-making is usually done by a reaper (basically a giant lawnmower), rake (also a giant one that you pull behind a tractor), and baler. First the mower does its work, then the hay needs to cure for a couple of days; the rake organizes the hay into windrows, and then the baler picks it up and poops out bales.
All of that sounds like a lot of work, but you're basically just sitting on your ass driving a tractor, so unless something breaks, it's just time-consuming.
Picking up the bales, though... well. That's a major reason I got off the farm as soon as humanly possible.
You might say it was...
*puts on sunglasses*
...the last straw. |
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