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. |
A couple of weeks ago, I revisited an entry that I noted was probably my shortest one ever, but wasn't about to check. So, behold, today the RNG gives me, from December 24, 2010, is longer by a word or two: "Enjoy this Christmas" ...that is, of course, if you don't count the ~4 min linked video which, much to my surprise, is still available as of this writing. I'm not going to embed it again, because I don't find it as amusing as I did 13 years ago. Nothing wrong with it, of course; it's John Cleese narrating a parody of Night Before Christmas. I don't find it offensive or outdated, just a bit hacky, like most parodies that I didn't write. And the video graphics seem dated. I'm clearly a different person now, with a slightly different sense of humor, than I was in those halcyon days of yore. Also, apparently, video embedding here is older than I thought. My sense of time is whacked, sometimes. And no, not because I'm linking a Christmas video in August; that's just the inevitable result of using a random number generator to pick these older entries. I'm not encouraging Christmas creep here; let us at least get through Halloween, and preferably also Thanksgiving here in the US, before we start up with the Santa shit again. Which means, sadly, Cleese lied. |