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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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Final entry for June's "Journalistic Intentions" [18+]...
This is where a Wide-Eyed Idealist is psychologically beaten and broken down until they become more cynical in their views.
This is better known as "growing up."
Starting out idealistic and ending up cynical and jaded is, in my view, the natural order of things. The other way around, well, it just doesn't work. Too unbelievable. If you have, say, a fantasy story with unicorns shitting rainbow-colored ice cream, frogs singing harmony, butterflies carrying an elephant off into a glorious sunset, and a character who becomes more idealistic over time, the most unbelievable thing about the story would be the last bit.
Now, it's perfectly okay to stay idealistic over the course of a story. That's basically the whole point of Superman, Star Trek and Doctor Who. And back in the old days, before seasons-long story arcs, a character's basic personality hardly ever changed over time, because you had to make self-contained episodes. Even I can appreciate that.
It's also fine to have a character that starts out cynical and stays that way. They can still fight on the side of the good guys; it's a matter of managing expectations.
Best, though, in my opinion, is when you can still see glimmers of hope in the eyes of a character wearing jade-colored glasses. A throwback to what they used to be, as it were. You need a little bit of that in there if the audience is going to believe they actually want to save the day.
So I don't actually accept jade-colored glasses as a trope. No, the character doesn't suddenly start seeing the world through lenses of cynicism and betrayal; they have simply taken off their blinders and can finally see reality. |
© 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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