This was not the most exciting chapter for me. I'm glad I understand the functions of complex numbers now. Professor Banchoff's exhibit makes more sense now. I like the use of color as the fourth dimension in the color plates. Is yellow the zero? Since blue has a higher energy than red, I would guess that blue is very positive, red is very negative, and all gradients in between fall in order. It would be neat to put some of the stuff in infrared and ultraviolet, so you could only see the whole thing using special lights and/or glasses. That would be cool in an art exhibit. I'm surprised that there are no 3-D stereograms (that use 3D glasses) in Professor Banchoff's collection for things like the complex functions. Doesn't anybody know about the pssibilities of CAD-CAM? All I know is that it is a relatively recent development. The acronym stands for computer-aided drafting-computer-aided machinery. Apparently there are machines that can sculpt 3D surfaces using lasers and models made on a computer. I would definitely like to be able to walk around a 3D model of a complex function. Of course computers help us with this, but it's just not the same.
I would like a more through expalnation of what's happening on the bottom of page 168. It looks like a neat concept. I also like all that golden ratio stuff. A while ago I noticed that the Brown Card (as well as most business cards, credit cards, etc...) are golden ration rectangles. Personally, I think its mostly a bunch of hooey, but whatever...There should be a class about the golden ratio--at least the myth if not the reality. Sure, it may pop up in nature every once in a while, but i'll take a square over a golden ratio rectangle any day.
It is a busy week, so I sign off for now....
Dan