Not for the faint of art. |
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. |
Time for another break to take a second look at an entry from the past. Today, the random numbers pulled something from June of 2021, just a few days before a road trip I took. Nothing to do with the road trip, though: "Dream a Little Dream" The linked Guardian article is, unsurprisingly, still up. The main point? To quote the article, "By injecting some random weirdness into our humdrum existence, dreams leave us better equipped to cope with the unexpected." That is, to be clear, a hypothesis, at least when the article is published. Now, what I should do is track down any updates or changes to the science since the article's publication, but to be honest, I can't be arsed right now. I'm in intermittent pain from that tooth thing I talked about a couple of days ago, and the only time I can get decent sleep is the "less pain" phase of "intermittent." So I'm being lazy. What I find relevant right now is the "random weirdness" part, since, yesterday, I noted the benefit of randomization to help break from thinking habits. That was in relation to tarot, but after getting this (random) result today, the first thing I thought of was how dreams are often symbolic, and people sometimes search for meaning in them. Seems parallel to me: dreams and tarot. Again, I'm not proposing anything mystical here, just our propensity to seek meaning in symbolism. The main difference, I think, is that the tarot uses other peoples' symbols, some from very long ago, while dreams are (for now) uniquely yours. There's probably some overlap, naturally. But I wouldn't put any trust in "dream interpretation" books or sites; none of them can know what a particular image in a dream means to you. And of course it might mean nothing at all, but that doesn't stop us from looking for meaning. There's nothing wrong with that, provided you don't run around claiming to have had the One True Last Inspiration. That's annoying to the rest of us. |