The root of negative one is impossible. You cannot (unless maybe you're a liberal, or leftist (I no longer care)) multiply any two numbers and get -1 as an answer. The character "i", the square root of negative one (the imaginary constant), is used as the replacement for this thing that is completely anti-math and anti-logic.
I love imaginary numbers and complex numbers. Imaginary numbers are a number multiplied by the imaginary constant. Complex numbers are some really strange hybrid where the number has a real and imaginary component, and that amalgamation of real and imaginary is "the number". Until you wrap your mind around it, which you may not be able (and for which I will not judge you harshly), it gets confusing very rapidly. Imaginary and complex numbers are one of few things that has actually created value because of their excessive oddness.
This has value on its face. Without imaginary/complex numbers, fractals could not exist. A lot of thinking people are thinking about this thing. That's good.
My brain, being the rogue character it is, asked me the silly question, "What if someone wanted the square root of a complex number?" I was immediately out of my element. Being fairly logical and mathematically literate, I started rationalizing with myself. If the imaginary constant "i" is a thing, maybe there is some way to work this out. But, if "i" is the imaginary constant, what is the square root of an imaginary thing? Squared imaginary? What then if a person tries to square root the square root of -1? Cubed imaginary? At any point, do the imaginaries start to cancel out to reality?
I find myself suffering the difficulty of wanting to point to people and things and uttering the syllable "i". The people should not exist in reality, they should be imaginary. Reality should have a warning dialog above these people that the content is irrational. Sadly, too many of these clueless twits land jobs at news outlets which have the misfortune to pay them some income and to further diminish the credibility of the place that has chosen to employ them.
Where was it I started? ... I no longer care where I started or why. This thought thread is done.
I love imaginary numbers and complex numbers. Imaginary numbers are a number multiplied by the imaginary constant. Complex numbers are some really strange hybrid where the number has a real and imaginary component, and that amalgamation of real and imaginary is "the number". Until you wrap your mind around it, which you may not be able (and for which I will not judge you harshly), it gets confusing very rapidly. Imaginary and complex numbers are one of few things that has actually created value because of their excessive oddness.
This has value on its face. Without imaginary/complex numbers, fractals could not exist. A lot of thinking people are thinking about this thing. That's good.
My brain, being the rogue character it is, asked me the silly question, "What if someone wanted the square root of a complex number?" I was immediately out of my element. Being fairly logical and mathematically literate, I started rationalizing with myself. If the imaginary constant "i" is a thing, maybe there is some way to work this out. But, if "i" is the imaginary constant, what is the square root of an imaginary thing? Squared imaginary? What then if a person tries to square root the square root of -1? Cubed imaginary? At any point, do the imaginaries start to cancel out to reality?
I find myself suffering the difficulty of wanting to point to people and things and uttering the syllable "i". The people should not exist in reality, they should be imaginary. Reality should have a warning dialog above these people that the content is irrational. Sadly, too many of these clueless twits land jobs at news outlets which have the misfortune to pay them some income and to further diminish the credibility of the place that has chosen to employ them.
Where was it I started? ... I no longer care where I started or why. This thought thread is done.
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