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It's long past time to retire Lena as the canonical test image in CG.
by pents90 6y ago
It's long past time to retire Lena as the canonical test image in CG.
- pkulak 6y agoLena and Big Buck Bunny for life!
- pkulak 6y agoWelp... I had no idea this was a centerfold photo and never gave it a second thought until now. I appreciate the heads up, op.
- enriquto 6y agoWhy? It's like "lorem ipsum" at this point.
- NoSorryCannot 6y agoIf lorem ipsum were softcore erotica...
- enriquto 6y agoWhat if I told you it actually is? > Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit, qui inea voluptate velit esse, quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum, qui dolorem eum fugiat, quo voluptas nulla pariatur? Translation: Who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure? This text could very well be the first page of a softcore erotica (or even hardcore!). The rest of the text is not usually visible. But then again, neither is the rest of lena!
- NoSorryCannot 6y agoThis is a really big stretch in interpretation but also in plausibility, since Latin is a dead language. But if it were true, then you'd have it your way: it'd also be inappropriate in professional settings that don't naturally necessitate it.
- 2038AD 6y ago> This is a really big stretch in interpretation According to Wikipedia[0], "[t]he placeholder text is taken from parts of the first book's discourse on hedonism." The first book being the first book of Cicero's De finibus bonorum et malorum. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_finibus_bonorum_et_malorum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_finibus_bonorum_et_malorum
- NoSorryCannot 6y agoLeast plausible of all is that someone would try to shore up this argument in good faith.
- 2038AD 6y agoTo be honest I'm sure it isn't erotica just as the Holy Bible is not despite verses like Ezekiel 23:20. I must also confess I did find the revelation a little amusing. It certainly says something about men (whether that's just the men of 70s from when both originate).
- YetAnotherNick 6y agoI knew other commenters would bash you for proving their point, but this is quite the best comeback I have seen in long time.
- crazygringo 6y agoThen... you'd be wrong. It's a philosophical argument against Epicurianism. Which has as much in common with softcare erotica as the phone book. Not sure what your point is.
- derefr 6y agoI would humbly note that, by volume, almost all of what generic lossy image compression algorithms are applied on, is in fact some form of erotica. A better compressor specifically in the domain of pornography—if widely applied—would probably do more to save total global Internet bandwidth usage than, say, better compression for YouTube videos would.
- KarlKemp 6y agoFish have no concept of water in very much the same way as you not seeing the problem here.
- flumpcakes 6y agoHow about you respect women in tech more and stop assuming they're so fragile that they need men to change an industry so they don't get their feelings hurt. Women are people, they don't care.
- nisuni 6y agoWoman here, you are absolutely right, I couldn’t care less about Lena!
- crazygringo 6y agoSeriously. People wonder why there aren't enough women in CS. Things like the canonical test image being a sexy "come hither" look, coming from a Playboy centerfold, definitely don't help. And it's not enough to say "well the rest of the centerfold isn't shown". Come on. We all know the source of the image. And "tradition" is far less important than CS being a welcoming environment for all people. Computer science is a profession. Let's use images that are appropriate for a professional setting.
- hombre_fatal 6y agoThe idea that women can't handle something like the Lena lorem ipsum seems more potentially offputting to women, to me. Seems ironic that guys race over each other to claim a picture of a woman is the shibboleth that keeps women out.
- crazygringo 6y agoOf course women can handle it. We're all adults. But is it appropriate in context? Is it welcoming? If you have a choice of jobs, is it the kind of environment you prefer? Or is it contributing to an image of "we're a bunch of immature boys who think it's funny to use a Playboy centerfold, har har, wait till you hear the sexist jokes we tell at lunch". It's not the end of the world. But a welcoming and inclusive work environment is the sum of hundreds of little things. This is one of those things. And come on -- the old line "what's the matter, can't you handle a joke?" is the oldest line in the book for "defending" sexist behavior. Expecting women to just "handle something" is not the right approach. We can be better than that.
- hombre_fatal 6y agoTo put a finer point on my comment, I'm claiming that it's not something that needs to be handled. Women can handle it in the same way they can handle a cloudy day or a man not racing over to hold the door open. I would suspect your shrill infantilization of women and the vicarious outrage on the behalf of women is something much harder to handle if you want to minimize the handling women need to do. How many people reading this even saw or knew about the uncropped Lena picture until they saw men on HN/Reddit nodding vigorously at each other over over how many women pass on STEM because of it. I see outrage like yours and wonder when was the last time you actually polled a woman's opinion on something like Lena. I'd wager 95+% of women roll their eyes that a cropped Playboy shot even moves the needle.
- rotskoff 6y agoCame here to make the exact same comment, agree completely!
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]