Lateral Numbers - How 'Imaginary Numbers' May Be Understood

First, allow me to rename theses numbers during the remainder of this post to lateral numbers, in accordance to the naming convention as was recommended by Gauss. I have a special reason for using this naming convention. It will later become apparent why I’ve done this.

If we examine lateral numbers algebraically, a pattern emerges:

$i^0 = 1$

$i^1 = i$

$i^2 = -1$

$i^3 = -i$

$i^4 = (i^2)^2 = (-1)^2 = 1$

$i^5 = i \cdot i^4 = i$

$i^6 = i^2 \cdot i^4 = (-1)(1) = -1$

$i^7 = i^2 \cdot i^5 = (-1)i = -i$

$i^8 = i^4 \cdot i^4 = (1)(1) = 1$

When we raise lateral numbers to higher powers, the answers do not get higher and higher in value like other numbers do. Instead, a pattern emerges after every 4th multiplication. This pattern never ceases.

All other numbers, besides laterals, have a place on what currently is called the ‘Real number line’.
I qualify the naming of the Real Numbers, because even their conceptualisation has come into question by some very incisive modern mathematicians. That is a very ‘volatile’ subject for conventional mathematicians and would take us off on a different tangent, so I’ll leave that idea for a different post.

If we look for laterals on any conventional Real number line, we will never ‘locate’ them. They are found there, but we need to look at numbers differently in order to ‘see’ them.

Lateral numbers solve one problem in particular: to find a number, which when multiplied by itself, yields another negative number.

Lateral numbers ‘unify’ the number line with the algebraic pattern shown above.

2 is positive and, when multiplied by itself, yields a positive number. It maintains direction on the number line.

When one of the numbers (leaving squaring briefly) being multiplied is negative, the multiplication yields a negative number. The direction ‘flips’ 180° into the opposite direction.

Multiplying -2 by -2 brings us back to the positive direction, because of the change resulting in multiplying by a negative number, which always flips our direction on the number line.

So, it appears as if there’s no way of landing on a negative number, right? We need a number that only rotates 90°, instead of the 180° when using negative numbers. This is where lateral numbers come into play.

If we place another lateral axis perpendicular to our ‘Real’ number line, we obtain the desired fit of geometry with our algebra.

When we multiply our ‘Real’ number 1 by i, we get i algebraically, which geometrically corresponds to a 90° rotation from 1 to i.

Now, multiplying by i again results in i squared, which is -1. This additional 90° rotation equals the customary 180° rotation when multiplying by -1 (above).

We may even look at this point as if we were viewing it down a perpendicular axis of the origin itself (moving in towards the origin from our vantage point, through the origin, and then out the back of our screen).

[If we allow this interpretation, we can identify the 'spin' of a point around the axis of its own origin! The amount of spin is determined by how much the point moves laterally in terms of i.
We may even determine in which direction the rotation is made. I'll add how this is done to this post soon.]

Each time we increase our rotation by multiplying by a factor of i, we increase our rotation another 90°, as seen here:

and,

The cycle repeats itself on every 4th power of i.

We could even add additional lateral numbers to any arbitrary point. This is what I do in my knowledge representations of holons. For example a point at say 5 may be expressed as any number of laterals i, j, k,… simply by adding or subtracting some amount of i, j, k,...:

5 + i + j +k +…

Or better as:

[5, i, j, k,…]

Seeing numbers in this fashion makes a point n-dimensional.