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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.
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Well, that's it for the prompts for a while. Though I'll probably devote some time next month to blogging for "Journalistic Intentions" [18+]. It's the least I can do since one of those prompts came from me.
PROMPT May 30th
Congratulations on making it to the last day of the competition! What was your favorite prompt from the last month? What was the most rewarding aspect of participating in the competition? What did you learn?
The problem with these "favorite prompt" questions that pop up at the end of a 30DBC round is that I remember more recent prompts and have already forgotten the earlier ones, because my memory is crap. So anything I say is going to be biased toward more recent entries. I mean, I had a lot of fun with yesterday's "dream house" prompt, so I'm going to go with that one, but I do remember thinking I enjoyed most of the prompts this time.
Unless I have a record of something, I will tend to forget it. That's one reason I blog -- periodically, I'll review earlier entries, and sometimes it's like seeing someone else's writing, because it's new again to me. So, the "most rewarding aspect" was probably that I now have a record of what it was like for me living through a pandemic. If it weren't for blogging, I probably wouldn't have recorded my impressions of it at all. As it is, I barely scratched the surface.
What did I learn? That's kind of problematic. I already knew I could blog every day. I learn something every day anyway, because, even though I haven't mentioned it in here much recently, I'm continuing to learn French, my efforts to do so hampered mostly by my aforementioned crappy memory. I make up for that with repetition. But that has nothing to do with blogging. I learned stuff about other bloggers, but, again, I'll probably have to be reminded what it was.
Thanks for reading, thanks for the prompts, and I hope you'll stick around -- I'm not going to stop writing in here, though as always, I reserve the right to take a night or two off. Probably won't, though, not next month. It's not like I'm going on vacation or anything. |
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