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. |
Yesterday, I drove up to NYC by means of the usual I-95/NJT route. Apart from one construction constriction, there were no traffic slowdowns. And that one exception lasted less than a mile. It gave me this eerie feeling, like watching an alien spacecraft landing, or seeing unicorns dancing with frog people in quicksand: simply something that never, ever happens. Like hearing an honest politician, or going on a second date with someone, or having the IRS owe me money. This unbalances the universe, you know. It's all out of whack now. Something terrible has to happen to me, personally, in order to return the etheric flow to its proper equilibrium. Maybe I'll get mugged (which hasn't happened to me in New York before). Or trip on a curb and break an arm. Or get food poisoning, or that nasty new 'rona strain, or hit by a taxi and die. The parking lot will wreck my car, or someone will steal it. Something. Or maybe I'll just encounter an 8-hour backup on the way back home. |