the way those voltages work together is exactly the way that real and imaginary numbers work together.

But, see, is it not INSANE that that is true? Right? It's insane? MATH IS CRAZY (AWESOME).

You could do all the same calculations without using complex numbers, but it's just easier to do it with the complex numbers.

This sounds very counterintuitive

It's insane that any math at all applies to the real world, when you get right down to it.

To mathematicians, anyway. It's a constant source of amazement.

You could do all the same calculations without using complex numbers, but it's just easier to do it with the complex numbers.

This sounds very counterintuitive

It's because, if you don't use complex numbers, then you've got to keep track of two dimensions separately. With a complex number like 3+2i, you've got the "2" information and the "3" information in the same number. If you weren't using complex numbers, then you'd have to have the 2 and the 3 separately, so that now you've got two numbers instead of just one.

It's insane that any math at all applies to the real world, when you get right down to it.

Exactly!

Have you read Big Bang, by Simon Singh? There's this amazing bit where he talks about a group that did some calculations that predicted a specific wavelength of radiation/light that, if the Big Bang had occurred, would be be omnipresent.

And then another independent group detected it, and it was the exact wavelength the other group had calculated.

Ah, here it is: discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation.

That's the news from the far side of two. I think billytea owes us an update from the other end of the infant spectrum.

I'm about to hit...

THE TEEN YEARS

A week from Saturday I will be the mother of a teenage boy. With the girl not far behind.

Hold me.

I have not read that particular book, but I've come across that story.

Be strong, Barb!

Euler's identity still makes me go, "Oh, holy wow!" It's just so...neat.

When I moved back into my mom's house, my kitty at the time dug some sort of hole and crawled up into her boxspring to sleep. He was impossible to find!

We petsat a ferret who did this. When we were closing up the house, we had to tip the mattresses up on end....and his whole collection of purloined items tumbled from the boxspring: cough drops, dried out orange peels, still wrapped tampons...enough to fill a mixing bowl. It was quite impressive.

And this reminded me of when a litter of kittens climbed into their boxspring just before bedtme one night and they couldn't get them out. No one got much sleep with a boxspring full of rampaging kittens.

My mom has a couch that my rabbit used to climb up into. Once the rabbit forged the way, the cats started doing it also. The dog can't fit even under it, but it's his absolute favorite spot to lie (though it's technically forbidden for him to get up on the couch, and he knows it).