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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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https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/sunday-firesides-the-power-of-liminal-sp...
The summer travel season is upon us, and many people are looking forward to spending time in desired destinations. Yet there’s also something special, but easily missed, in the process of getting there — the flights, the road trips, even the layovers at airports.
Look, I get the point of the article. I even agree with it, mostly. But the only saving grace of layovers at airports is the booze.
The article at the link above is in line with what I said a few days ago: that there is no destination; there is only journey.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said that we find “enlarged powers” and “poetic creativeness” not “in staying at home nor yet in traveling, but in transitions from one to the other.” He called these experiences croisements – crossings.
Only pretentious people resort to French. But I'll give RWE a pass on that; he has the right to be pretentious.
I like to refer to them as liminal spaces.
Only even more pretentious people use the word "liminal."
But I especially love a long road trip. I love feeling that no one knows exactly where I am. That I’ve slipped the structures of my ordinary life.
This part, now - it resonates with me. I don't have much to escape from, but I sure do like to escape to. Only quibble is what with GPS and license-plate readers, They know exactly where you are.
Well, whether you agree with these authors about airports or not, I think that cultivating the right attitude helps with travel stress - yours and everyone else's. The right attitude can change from person to person, but it involves accepting where you are and what you're doing, even if it's sitting there waiting for them to call steerage class passengers to board an airplane.
Even if they charge $20 for a goddamn martini. |
© Copyright 2024 Robert Waltz (UN: cathartes02 at Writing.Com). All rights reserved. Robert Waltz has granted InkSpot.Com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.
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