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. |
Short version: I survived. Slightly longer version: Donner Pass involved cold temperatures, snowy roads, trucks everywhere, cops, and a mysterious checkpoint of sorts that I don't fully understand, but was, to me, more evidence that California is absolutely planning to secede. Once I rolled down the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada, though, I had but one priority: find a car wash to deal with the nasty mess left by the salted roads and the dirty spray kicked up by every truck that passed me. Difficulty #1: remember how I have a crack in my windshield? Well, I started thinking about how an automatic car wash with its spinning thingies might make the crack worse. The only alternative I could find would be a non-automatic car wash, where I'd have to get out and do the washing myself, and that's against my religion because it's too much like work. Difficulty #2: Lodi, or Stockton? Either way, I'd fully expect to get carjacked at a stoplight. Anyway, I decided to chance a car wash in Lodi, and it worked out fine. Didn't even get stuck in Lodi again. And yes, I've been drinking. Maybe I'll be more coherent tomorrow. Probably not. |