Another way to think of it is that all numbers are imaginary.
Numbers aren't real. Platonism is wrong. Imaginary numbers aren't "out there" somewhere. The whole system of mathematics is an accumulated edifice of metaphors designed by human brains, for human brains, and there's no god "behind the curtain". It's just a tool of thought. It reflects the "reality" of the universe only insofar as we've looked at the universe, noticed patterns, and constructed metaphors around them.
This is not a popular viewpoint! But it is the only scientifically supported one.
Numbers aren't real. Platonism is wrong. Imaginary numbers aren't "out there" somewhere. The whole system of mathematics is an accumulated edifice of metaphors designed by human brains, for human brains, and there's no god "behind the curtain". It's just a tool of thought. It reflects the "reality" of the universe only insofar as we've looked at the universe, noticed patterns, and constructed metaphors around them.
This is not a popular viewpoint! But it is the only scientifically supported one.