4 ms·

I'm rather disappointed to see the Lena image still being used as a demonstration for image processing techniques (regardless of its historical context). At be

by cnewey 9y ago

I'm rather disappointed to see the Lena image still being used as a demonstration for image processing techniques (regardless of its historical context). At best, it's crass and tasteless. At worst, it's openly disrespectful and hostile to women. There are millions (billions) of images on the Internet that are available for use under a permissive license - it doesn't take a lot of effort to use something else.

epmaybe 9y ago
Why is it crass and tasteless? And why is it openly hostile and disrespectful to women?
- cnewey 9y ago
  If I need to explain to you why using a nude image of a model (taken from a pornography magazine, no less) is hostile and disrespectful, then I suspect you are part of the problem.
  - zardo 9y ago
    I thought it was a Playboy. Does Lena have a problem with it or something?
    - colanderman 9y ago
      No but individuals, particularly women, working in AI might have a problem with objectification of women.
      - KekDemaga 9y ago
        The new Victorians.
        colanderman 9y ago
        Respect for individuals as beings is completely orthogonal to prudishness, and it is disingenuous of you to conflate the two issues. If you disagree, see any modern sex-positive sex blog, most of which manage both to respect women, and which – by definition – are not prudish.
  - thinkMOAR 9y ago
    Genius.... If somebody asks you to explain something, well better just say they are part of the problem and not explain it at all... that will really improve things. Great contribution there. It is NOT a nude image. It might be a cropped version of a what originally was a nude image, but that doesn't make it a nude image. If i crop you out of a picture, its no longer a picture of you? Now it is just a woman with a hat and a shoulder that is not covered with some fabric. If mentally you instantly see the original picture, perhaps you have 'stared' too long at that playboy issue. Though the point others make in this thread, i think is very valid, it is not a jigsaw puzzle. I was expecting software for when i visit my mom (who likes making jigsaw puzzles), quickly snap a picture on my phone of the table with all the pieces and it would assist me in solving it while she leaves the table for a bit to make tea/coffee. (leaving mom flabbergasted with: how did you...)
    - cnewey 9y ago
      For any curious minds wondering about the provenance of the Lena image, here's a short article written in 1996 by the (at the time) editor-in-chief of IEEE Transactions on Image Processing. The controversy (and both viewpoints) are summed up quite adequately. http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~chuck/lennapg/editor.html http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~chuck/lennapg/editor.html To respond to your point - while you might be technically correct in that the Lena image commonly used today is not a "nude" image per se... are you genuinely saying that you don't understand why some people don't like it - or why it's unpleasant and/or degrading to women in the field? Its provenance is well known, and the very association with Playboy (nudity notwithstanding) is likely enough to irritate or upset women in image processing/computer vision circles (I say this having had personal experience of various -- female -- lecturers at my alma mater disagreeing with the use of the Lena image).
      - s4vi0r 9y ago
        I think you're either intentionally or unintentionally looking to create/perpetuate controversy where there is none. The post you linked mentions itself that most people weren't even aware of the origin of the image, which I think is probably the only thing which may cause it to be offensive towards prudish people in general. Personally, I find it strictly more offensive that people are outraged on behalf of these supposed women, who are so delicate that the use of a heavily cropped playboy image outrages, offends, or discourages them from a field of study. I think regardless of which image you choose, you'll always find some group of people who are offended by it, and anyone who is offended by an image as tame as this one probably has some growing up to do.
  - epmaybe 9y ago
    I didn't even realize it was a nude image, nor that it was taken from a pornography magazine. Thank you for the context.
    - cnewey 9y ago
      In that case, I apologise! It was not my intention to be blunt or rude if you were asking out of curiosity - sincere apologies.

by cnewey 9y ago

epmaybe 9y ago

Why is it crass and tasteless? And why is it openly hostile and disrespectful to women?

cnewey 9y ago
If I need to explain to you why using a nude image of a model (taken from a pornography magazine, no less) is hostile and disrespectful, then I suspect you are part of the problem.
- zardo 9y ago
  I thought it was a Playboy. Does Lena have a problem with it or something?
  - colanderman 9y ago
    No but individuals, particularly women, working in AI might have a problem with objectification of women.
    - KekDemaga 9y ago
      The new Victorians.
      - colanderman 9y ago
        Respect for individuals as beings is completely orthogonal to prudishness, and it is disingenuous of you to conflate the two issues. If you disagree, see any modern sex-positive sex blog, most of which manage both to respect women, and which – by definition – are not prudish.
- thinkMOAR 9y ago
  Genius.... If somebody asks you to explain something, well better just say they are part of the problem and not explain it at all... that will really improve things. Great contribution there. It is NOT a nude image. It might be a cropped version of a what originally was a nude image, but that doesn't make it a nude image. If i crop you out of a picture, its no longer a picture of you? Now it is just a woman with a hat and a shoulder that is not covered with some fabric. If mentally you instantly see the original picture, perhaps you have 'stared' too long at that playboy issue. Though the point others make in this thread, i think is very valid, it is not a jigsaw puzzle. I was expecting software for when i visit my mom (who likes making jigsaw puzzles), quickly snap a picture on my phone of the table with all the pieces and it would assist me in solving it while she leaves the table for a bit to make tea/coffee. (leaving mom flabbergasted with: how did you...)
  - cnewey 9y ago
    For any curious minds wondering about the provenance of the Lena image, here's a short article written in 1996 by the (at the time) editor-in-chief of IEEE Transactions on Image Processing. The controversy (and both viewpoints) are summed up quite adequately. http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~chuck/lennapg/editor.html http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~chuck/lennapg/editor.html To respond to your point - while you might be technically correct in that the Lena image commonly used today is not a "nude" image per se... are you genuinely saying that you don't understand why some people don't like it - or why it's unpleasant and/or degrading to women in the field? Its provenance is well known, and the very association with Playboy (nudity notwithstanding) is likely enough to irritate or upset women in image processing/computer vision circles (I say this having had personal experience of various -- female -- lecturers at my alma mater disagreeing with the use of the Lena image).
    - s4vi0r 9y ago
      I think you're either intentionally or unintentionally looking to create/perpetuate controversy where there is none. The post you linked mentions itself that most people weren't even aware of the origin of the image, which I think is probably the only thing which may cause it to be offensive towards prudish people in general. Personally, I find it strictly more offensive that people are outraged on behalf of these supposed women, who are so delicate that the use of a heavily cropped playboy image outrages, offends, or discourages them from a field of study. I think regardless of which image you choose, you'll always find some group of people who are offended by it, and anyone who is offended by an image as tame as this one probably has some growing up to do.
- epmaybe 9y ago
  I didn't even realize it was a nude image, nor that it was taken from a pornography magazine. Thank you for the context.
  - cnewey 9y ago
    In that case, I apologise! It was not my intention to be blunt or rude if you were asking out of curiosity - sincere apologies.