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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 8, 2021 at 12:02am November 8, 2021 at 12:02am
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Any answer to a question like this just cries out for a follow-up question: "So why haven't you already done it?" That is annoying.
PROMPT November 8th
What would you have to start doing now so that in 10 years you feel like you just had the best decade of your life?
Drugs.
Okay, no, seriously, I've already had the best decade of my life. There's a reason they call it being "over the hill" — it's all downhill from that point.
The biggest thing I still want to do over the next ten years is travel. "So why haven't you already done it?" Fucking read the room, okay?
It won't give me the best decade of my life, though; all it will do is provide new experiences (and, most importantly, new beer). Which is, of course, good enough for me. But it's not like I'd be "starting" it, anyway; I've taken the odd trip here and there. I just want to take a few more.
I won't rehash the places I want to go right now. I've banged on enough about it in the past.
First, though, let me get past this eye surgery thing. Not a lot of point in traveling if I can't see well enough to appreciate the scenery. |
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