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. |
That's four years of daily blog entries, as of today. 1461 entries in a row (365*4+1, where the 1 is because there was a leap year in there). Which is, I'll note, more than the total number of entries I made from 2007-2019. No retrospectives today, though. I'm already doing one at random every week. Can I do this for another four years? Well, no. There's only enough entries available in a blog item for another year and a quarter, assuming daily entries. So, unless something changes, that'll be that. Though, of course, I'd consider starting a new blog at that point. Might be fun to see if I can push it to five years. But I don't expect to be able to do that. See, if I expect not to, it'll be that much more satisfying if I do it; and if I don't make it, at least I'll have the pure joy of saying "I told you so." As life philosophies go, that one (I call it pessimistic optimism, sometimes, or other things other times) works for me. Other people hate it. That makes me cling to it more tightly. |