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Complex Numbers

by Waltz Invictus

Rated: 18+ · Book · Personal · #1196512

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.

http://www.ddewey.net/mandelbrot/

Signature for Honorable Mentions in 2018 Quill Awards

A signature for exclusive use of winners at the 2019 Quill Awards

Signature for those who have won a Quill Award at the 2020 Quill Awards

Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

Annette

about 9 hours ago
In response to "Neutral Zone"

It made me happy that I was able to like it. I take the small victories.

1 Like

tj-Merry Mischief Maker

a day ago
In response to "To Err Is Human"

Right from the beginning I find myself asking, "How many times can anything go extinct?" On a side note, the other day while shopping I saw a neanderthal in the produce section. He was trying to fit in with modern clothes, but it was pretty obvious he was a neanderthal.

1 Like

Annette

a day ago
In response to "To Err Is Human"

Comments work.

"Like" button sends me this message:

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2 Like

Annette

a day ago
In response to "To Err Is Human"

Can I leave this comment?

Wordsmitty ✍️

a day ago
In response to "Five Seconds"

Way, way back when I was little, it was a three second rule that I remember. Sometime since it was upped to five seconds because of all the chemical preservatives that are pumped into everything now.

1 Like

tj-Merry Mischief Maker

Dec 19, 2024 at 3:43pm
In response to "Five Seconds"

I also ate carrots right out of the garden growing up, I also picked and ate fruits and berries growing in the wild without washing. I do remember food dropped on the floor was either rinsed off and then eaten, or if it was something not easily rinsed, like buttered toast buttered side down, we gave it to the dog.

In our house, there's not a five second rule; unless it's something dogs can't eat, it's whichever one gets it first.

2 Like

🌖 HuntersMoon

Dec 19, 2024 at 8:53am
In response to "Five Seconds"

2 Like

Aiva Raine

Dec 17, 2024 at 7:39pm
In response to "Need for Speed"

Even with the actual explanation- it still left me going- sooooo what's the difference between the special expensive "speed tape" they use for "temporary fixes" and duct tape? LOL- sure sounds like duct tape to me and they are using it for exactly the same reasons you would use duct tape. I'm guessing that the only difference between it and duct tape is the "speed tape" is slightly stronger and handles temperature differences better. It still comes down holding the plane together with tape which doesn't exactly fill me with confidence. Especially if it's a Boeing plane.

1 Like

tj-Merry Mischief Maker

Dec 17, 2024 at 6:14pm
In response to "Need for Speed"

I suppose they call it speed tape to keep people calm. If they called it what it is, temporary repair tape, they may lose passengers.

2 Like

Waltz Invictus

Dec 17, 2024 at 9:43am
In response to "Need for Speed"

Ichabod Crane-- Mince Pie

, I've heard that speed tape is extremely expensive. I can only assume the maintenance guys at Delta got a five-finger discount. But if you're going to steal from work, might as well go big and not just lift a box of paper clips.

1 Like

July 8, 2024 at 9:43am

#1073675

Playing Chicken

I seem to have a fascination with classification questions, especially when it comes to food. I've chimed in on the sandwichness or lack thereof of hot dogs (I say they're tacos); the difference between soup and stew; and how Chicago deep-dish casserole isn't pizza. To name a few.

Now, Cracked raises another classification question:

What About Chicken Salad Actually Qualifies As Salad?
I can’t see through the copious mayonnaise to any solid reasoning

And no, this isn't about how chicken salad is the grown-up version of egg salad.

Summer is upon us, something that happens in about two seconds flat in the Earth’s modern climate. With it comes the barbecue, and with the barbecue comes a culinary curiosity I’ve never understood: chicken salad.

I don't particularly like chicken salad (I like my dead birds warm), but I think I understand it: as the author notes, it's associated with summer, and it's not a hot dish, which makes it a contrast to, say, barbecue ribs or grilled hamburgers. Plus, this is America, and mayonnaise is practically our national food.

I thought at some point after I’d had a taste of the world and started paying my own rent, the idea of calling said chicken mixture a “salad” would come into focus.

Probably also thought you'd have all your shit together and finally understand a New Yorker article. Didn't, did you?

Now, as for why chicken salad is considered a salad, multiple sources chalk it up to the inclusion of “dressing.”

"Dressing" is another point of confusion. In some parts of the US, they call the croutony mixture served with turkey at Thanksgiving "dressing." Most of us call it "stuffing." The practice of actually stuffing turkey with it has fallen out of favor thanks to contamination issues, but calling it "dressing" just won't cut it.

They shut the book there, too, as if they’ve proven something. Excuse my French, but fuck ouef.

That pun would have been way funnier if he'd spelled œuf correctly.

In my world at least, straight-up, jarred mayonnaise holds no claim to the title of dressing.

And yet its inbre(a)d cousin, Miracle Whip, is clearly labeled as "dressing."

A clarification that’s been lost to time would make all this a little clearer, and that’s the idea of a “bonded” or “bound” salad. More traditional salads are known as “composed,” or mixed salads, while bound salads are fashioned into a single substance through a thick agent.

Now, see, I didn't know that, but other sources confirm it, including the link included with the article.

This distinction would be especially useful for salads that live in both worlds, like pasta salad. I, for one, never order pasta salad on a menu because it’s a coin flip between receiving a delightful, refreshing mix of rotini and cherry tomatoes (with perhaps a pesto vinaigrette), and a trowel full of beige, edible mortar.

This is absolute truth. Except, in some cases, for the "edible" part.

The only thing I will say in favor of mayo-based salads is that the rants decrying them as a symptom of American excess are unfair. That’s because such salads have emerged across the world. Russia, in particular, lays a large claim to them, and potato salad is apparently known as ensalata rusa in South America.

I haven't heard such rants. I was always under the impression that it's the polar opposite of "excess." Unless you're using the term in the sense of "I'm using up the excess chicken from last night." No, though I don't care for them much myself, things like potato salad and chicken salad are generally enjoyed by all kinds of people, including the less economically advantaged.

So, I guess, I'll chalk this one up to the inherent ambiguity of the English language, not some culinary conspiracy.

6 Like • Comment • View 3 comments

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