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. |
I realized after the fact that I wasn't as clear as I could have been with yesterday's entry. I can't even blame being drunk. But I was tired. Anyway, point is, I did indeed spend a few hours on Catalina Island on Tuesday. It's a pain in the ass to get there and back, but the boat ride was relaxing and Avalon, the main town there, has some cool little tourist-trappy shops. I can blame a lot of yesterday on being drunk, though. While I stayed firmly on the mainland, the day started to go uphill with lunch, which consisted of sushi and a really quite amazingly large quantity of sake. After visiting several purveyors of fine malt beverage subsequent to that, the final one being within half a mile of my hotel, I ended up stumbling back and passing out. Today, my plane leaves in a few hours, and I doubt I'll be on here for the rest of the day. So I wanted to get my blog entry in to keep my streak going, even though I don't have much to talk about except how generally awesome the breweries in the L.A. area are, and to publicly thank NaNoNette for being my local guide for these last few days. After this, we'll return to our regularly scheduled programming. |