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. |
Let's do another one from "JAFBG" [XGC]. Tell us about something that should have gone viral because it's awesome as fuck but so far remains relatively unknown. Anything I come up with. Some examples: The first decade of this century should be called the noughties. I came up with that. Sure, other people (notably the BBC) came up with it independently. And to be fair, it's a bit British; they use the word "nought" for zero more than we do. It's better than what I've seen here in the US: the "aughts." No. We shouldn't "aught" to do that. Given the mistakes that happened to bookend that decade - the security failures leading up to the 9/11 attacks, and the banking crisis toward the end of the decade - we were all very "noughty." A while back, right here in this blog, I invented a new word for becoming completely blitzed-out drunk. I knew we already had words for that, but I wanted one of my own. The word I proposed was "danchu." It just sounded right. Then, out of curiosity, I asked the Great Oracle if "danchu" already had a meaning. Apparently, it does. In Mandarin Chinese, it means to fade to black, like a movie scene. Highly appropriate, wouldn't you say? Calling social media influencers "influenzas." Some of my other neologisms have indeed gone viral, but not because I started them; someone else with more social clout came up with them independently. One example is the use of "copium" to describe certain internet articles that urge you to destress or whatever, to deal with the slings and arrows of outrageous endgame capitalism. One use of this word is "copium den." There are more, in both categories, but I can't be arsed to think of them right now. |