Numeric approximations to the imaginary number: divergent series

Part 1Part 2 In the previous post, we created an approximation to i by iteratively solving Sum[j=0,n]{x_(j)*x_(n-j)} = 1 to construct a number which squares to our base 2 representation of -1, …111. The first few terms are: … (35/128) (5/16) (3/8) (1/2) (1) Some observations: it is tempting to simplify this to the standard… Continue reading Numeric approximations to the imaginary number: divergent series

Numeric approximations to the imaginary number: representations of negative numbers

The biggest barrier to approximating i, the imaginary number, as we approximate pi is the lack of a number -1. It is not clear how to take the square root of a negative symbol. Interestingly, there are numeric representations of -1 in the left infinite numbers, the numbers that can continue to arbitrary large terms… Continue reading Numeric approximations to the imaginary number: representations of negative numbers

Collapsing demographic wave

The small city was clearly past its prime. The houses I walked past were magnificent, once. Large, beautifully balanced architecture covered in peeling paint. Hedges were overgrown, with many weeds around their bases and throughout the yards. The neighborhood school felt undersized for the surrounding neighborhood, but oversized for the students it had. Many of… Continue reading Collapsing demographic wave

Taking frequency shift seriously

It is important to take observations seriously. Many discussions of light frequency shift phenomena focus on the transformations, with more than a little implication that any observer’s stationary frame is more real than the others. So let’s take frequency shift seriously, starting with black holes. Objects near a black hole are very large. As things… Continue reading Taking frequency shift seriously

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Risk, present and future value

Lower risk increases the present value of future opportunities, but reduces the opportunity gradient. You can imagine an opportunity gradient as a plot of your value at a series of points in your future. The greater the gradient, the steeper the increase in that curve between any two future points. A result is that low… Continue reading Risk, present and future value

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Stretching Insights

I just touched my toes during a sitting “touch your toes!” stretch for the first time … in probably ever. As it turns out, the key was not to directly touch my toes, but to understand stretching. On prior stretches, I would do as directed. When the instructor said “Touch your toes!”, I would bend… Continue reading Stretching Insights

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A thing is worth what someone else would pay.

Prices are usually set by what the next person would pay.  In any transaction negotiation, there are 4 important numbers: buyer’s value, buyer’s next best offer (NBO), seller’s value, and seller’s NBO. The buyer’s or seller’s value is the benefit that each party receives from possessing a thing, measured in terms of money. This is… Continue reading A thing is worth what someone else would pay.

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