If it doesn't exist in the first place, what's stopping i from being any possible number? What's stopping it from being zero and cancelling everything out? Who gets to decide what value a non-existent number takes?

i isn't just any imaginary number, it's a particular one, with particular properties within the number system. It can't be zero, because i squared is -1, while 0 squared is 0. (And non-existant isn't the same as imaginary. Imaginary numbers "exist" as much as any other number does.)

basically grabbing a random figure out of thin air

1) It's not a random number, it's the same as any symbol used to represent something. We use letters to represent the sounds we make. Just because Arabic doesn't look like English, doesn't mean it's not language.

2) It follows specific rules. It works one way and one way only. Just like 2 will always be 2.

So, your bridge is not going to fall down because of the math. It will fall down because the contractor is a cheap shit who used materials that did not meet the engineers carefully laid plans.

So are there other imaginary numbers exclusive of i? Like, is there a letter that represents i+1, i+2, the square root of i, etc.?

If i is one specific value within the set of imaginary numbers, is it possible to explain to a layman what kind of property i has that makes it different from the rest of the set?

Edited to add that I'm not trying to be belligerent or dismissive; I really want to understand this and I have never been able to do it. It's very frustrating.

Hates math. It makes me feel so dumb and I AM NOT DUMB.

ION, my new haircut is cute. It's a bob (I always end up back at the bob) that's angled up in back and longer in front. A bit longer than chin length in front. I'm tempted to go short next time... I saw a girl at the oil change place with the cutest short hair and I think I want it. Tell me know. Every time I try to go short, I end up not liking it. My ideal length is anywhere from chin to shoulder. Any shorter or longer and it doesn't really suit me as well.

How do use that site? Do ihave have to download something to make it work?

You need a downloading client, yeah. I recommend Azureus. Just install, and then click!

Jen, I don't know if this will help you, but it explains imaginary numbers better than I feel I can. Good luck.

Hello, mi Bitches!

So, on the left hand menu of my iTunes, I've got something I don't recognize. Under my iPod there's something called Siggy's LimeWire Tunes. It's an icon just like the green one for the Music Store, only its blue. Does anyone know what it does? Is it a door to musical Narnia?

So are there other imaginary numbers exclusive of i? Like, is there a letter that represents i+1, i+2, the square root of i, etc.?

i+1 and i+2 are just i+1 and i+2. The square root of i is something like (i+1) divided by the square root of two (I can't remember it exactly right now, and I'm too lazy to figure it out -- it might be (i-1) or (1-i) rather than (i+1), but it's something like that.) Numbers that can be written as a+bi, where a and b are real numbers, are called complex numbers.

Ok, so I downloaded Azureus, and the Alias file I wanted (last Wed's) but it says that Windows Mediaplayer will not play it.

EDIT Should I take this to the Tech thread?

Jen, perhaps this will help: [link]

and: [link]