\"Writing.Com
*Magnify*
SPONSORED LINKS
Printed from https://shop.writing.com/main/profile/blog/cathartes02/day/11-12-2023
Image Protector
Rated: 18+ · Book · Personal · #1196512
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.




Merit Badge in Quill Award
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on winning Best Blog in the 2021 edition of  [Link To Item #quills] !
Merit Badge in Quill Award
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on winning the 2019 Quill Award for Best Blog for  [Link To Item #1196512] . This award is proudly sponsored by the blogging consortium including  [Link To Item #30dbc] ,  [Link To Item #blogcity] ,  [Link To Item #bcof]  and  [Link To Item #1953629] . *^*Delight*^* For more information, see  [Link To Item #quills] . Merit Badge in Quill Award
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on winning the 2020 Quill Award for Best Blog for  [Link To Item #1196512] .  *^*Smile*^*  This award is sponsored by the blogging consortium including  [Link To Item #30dbc] ,  [Link To Item #blogcity] ,  [Link To Item #bcof]  and  [Link To Item #1953629] .  For more information, see  [Link To Item #quills] .
Merit Badge in Quill Award 2
[Click For More Info]

    2022 Quill Award - Best Blog -  [Link To Item #1196512] . Congratulations!!!    Merit Badge in Quill Award 2
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations! 2022 Quill Award Winner - Best in Genre: Opinion *^*Trophyg*^*  [Link To Item #1196512] Merit Badge in Quill Award 2
[Click For More Info]

   Congratulations!! 2023 Quill Award Winner - Best in Genre - Opinion  *^*Trophyg*^*  [Link To Item #1196512]
Merit Badge in 30DBC Winner
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on winning the Jan. 2019  [Link To Item #30dbc] !! Merit Badge in 30DBC Winner
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on taking First Place in the May 2019 edition of the  [Link To Item #30DBC] ! Thanks for entertaining us all month long! Merit Badge in 30DBC Winner
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on winning the September 2019 round of the  [Link To Item #30dbc] !!
Merit Badge in 30DBC Winner
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on winning the September 2020 round of the  [Link To Item #30dbc] !! Fine job! Merit Badge in 30DBC Winner
[Click For More Info]

Congrats on winning 1st Place in the January 2021  [Link To Item #30dbc] !! Well done! Merit Badge in 30DBC Winner
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on winning the May 2021  [Link To Item #30DBC] !! Well done! Merit Badge in 30DBC Winner
[Click For More Info]

Congrats on winning the November 2021  [Link To Item #30dbc] !! Great job!
Merit Badge in Blogging
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on winning an honorable mention for Best Blog at the 2018 Quill Awards for  [Link To Item #1196512] . *^*Smile*^* This award was sponsored by the blogging consortium including  [Link To Item #30dbc] ,  [Link To Item #blogcity] ,  [Link To Item #bcof]  and  [Link To Item #1953629] . For more details, see  [Link To Item #quills] . Merit Badge in Blogging
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on your Second Place win in the January 2020 Round of the  [Link To Item #30dbc] ! Blog On! *^*Quill*^* Merit Badge in Blogging
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on your second place win in the May 2020 Official Round of the  [Link To Item #30dbc] ! Blog on! Merit Badge in Blogging
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on your second place win in the July 2020  [Link To Item #30dbc] ! Merit Badge in Blogging
[Click For More Info]

Congratulations on your Second Place win in the Official November 2020 round of the  [Link To Item #30dbc] !
Merit Badge in Highly Recommended
[Click For More Info]

I highly recommend your blog. Merit Badge in Opinion
[Click For More Info]

For diving into the prompts for Journalistic Intentions- thanks for joining the fun! Merit Badge in High Five
[Click For More Info]

For your inventive entries in  [Link To Item #2213121] ! Thanks for the great read! Merit Badge in Enlightening
[Click For More Info]

For winning 3rd Place in  [Link To Item #2213121] . Congratulations!
Merit Badge in Quarks Bar
[Click For More Info]

    For your awesome Klingon Bloodwine recipe from [Link to Book Entry #1016079] that deserves to be on the topmost shelf at Quark's.
Signature for Honorable Mentions in 2018 Quill AwardsA signature for exclusive use of winners at the 2019 Quill AwardsSignature for those who have won a Quill Award at the 2020 Quill Awards
For quill 2021 winnersQuill Winner Signature 20222023 Quill Winner

November 12, 2023 at 9:43am
November 12, 2023 at 9:43am
#1059365
Another Sunday, another exhumation from the archives... though this one isn't buried that deeply; it's from early March of last year, featuring an article from six months prior: "Real Men Don't Worry About What a Real Man IsOpen in new Window.

The link is from Cracked, so it's still around  Open in new Window. as of today. I can't speak for how timely it still is; if you do the math above, you'll note that the article was from over two years ago, and things were... well, they were a little different in 2021. I don't follow trends closely enough to know if there's still a burgeoning "reclaim your manliness" industry, for instance.

As I've noted, one of the reasons I do these, apart from my blog rapidly running out of space and I'm trying to start to bring some sense of closure to it, is to see how my perspective or opinions might have changed in the intervening year or years (anything from before 12 months ago is fair game for these randomly-selected entries). But having re-read the entry, and the article, I'm not finding any notable evolution in my ideas on the subject.

I will highlight a few things, though:

Me: ...my body wash, which is also a shampoo, conditioner, salad dressing, cake icing, and engine lube.

I was quite proud of this line, and even received a positive comment about it. Hopefully, it's clear that it was a joke, but the reality is that my hair product is a) marketed to men and b) a "3-in-1 shampoo, conditioner, and body wash." Recently, it occurred to me that the cultural assumption still holds in the US that men have short hair, and that, more than sociological or biological factors, or even marketing, may be behind the labeling—though I imagine that it's attractive to many heterosexual men to have just one all-encompassing product to use, if only because their partners have taken up all the room in the shower caddy with their own various products.

Though I don't have that problem, I still appreciate its versatility and simplicity. Problem is, though, I haven't gotten a haircut since before the pandemic, and my mane was already fairly well-developed when all the barbershops and hairdressers temporarily shut down. At this point, it's pretty much full-on The Dude. While I'm glad I still have most of it at my age, I wondered (you know, one of those epiphanies you sometimes get in the shower) if I shouldn't look for something more designed for 80s-rock-star hair. But, you know, being men, long-haired hippie freaks and rock stars don't generally talk openly about hair care.

So here I am, talking openly about hair care. Because, as you might guess from the earlier entry's title, I don't worry about what a "real man" is.

Whatever; I'll keep using my all-in-one until it no longer works for me.

Another comment wondered why I didn't expand more on the final point made in the original article. I can't speak for my attitude at the time, any more than I can remember what I had for lunch that day, but upon re-reading that part of the article, I find I simply don't have much to add. I don't know what goes on in other men's heads any more than I know what my cat is thinking. The header includes the phrase: "Men Are Now Lonely, Isolated, And Scared"

Even if I agree, which I'm inclined to do, I don't have answers. Personally, I'm not lonely, even when I'm alone; I don't feel isolated, because I have friends; and apart from the occasional jump-shock from an unexpected indoor spider (they get relocated outdoors) or when I had to face eye surgery (which I came out of just fine), I don't live my life in fear.

If there's anything I could work up a comment on, it's this bit from the article:

If we insist on idealizing the '50s, maybe we should focus on the part where masculinity meant contributing to your community. That’s the real difference between men today and back then.

Guessing here that by "your community" they mean your physical location. Most of us have communities online, and they could be comprised of people from all over the world. For a time, as an example, I was gaming with a group that included someone remoting in from India, which is almost as far away as it's possible to get and still be on the same planet. And then there's this site, of course.

But in terms of local community, I don't have much of a presence. Yesterday, I made a brief and rare foray into the wild in order to attend a book discussion and signing by three of my favorite authors, all of whom live nearby—but I would never have known about their work if I hadn't found them online first.

Many years ago, I participated in a fantasy & science fiction book club, in person. Perhaps I need to find one of those again. Maybe find some decent shampoo, first.


© Copyright 2024 Robert Waltz (UN: cathartes02 at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
Robert Waltz has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.

Printed from https://shop.writing.com/main/profile/blog/cathartes02/day/11-12-2023