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. |
Close to the end of 2020 is where we find today's throwback, an entry in response to a 30DBC prompt: "Pigs on the Wing" It was, if you're too lazy to click, about bacon. The reason for the entry's title, apart from being a Pink Floyd song (actually two songs, or one song divided into two parts, a trick they'd sometimes pull; see, e.g. "Another Brick In The Wall"), is a reference to my preference: When it comes to breakfast meats, I prefer turkey "bacon." As I noted in that entry, I'm not a fan of meat fats in general. You'd think that would make me automatically healthier, but it does not. In an attempt to save face, I also discussed veggie strips, which I call fakon: They do not, in fact, pass for bacon, even though the makers take great pains to make them look marbled. But the important part of the entry is, of course, the joke about the rabbi and the priest. I suppose I should link this, too: We would zigzag our way through the boredom and pain Occasionally glancing up through the rain Wondering which of the buggers to blame And watching for pigs on the wing |