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I don't get why every science article gets negative comments like this. Just because something doesn't have immediate practical applications doesn't mean its n

by soup10 14y ago

I don't get why every science article gets negative comments like this. Just because something doesn't have immediate practical applications doesn't mean its not interesting research. Of course it's annoying when they are overly optimistic(either because of journalists trying to make the finding interesting, or researchers trying to get more funding), but that's to be expected.

DenisM 14y ago
Where headline is not accurate, it bears pointing out. I had no idea that this is not in fact a visible light lense.
- jasonwatkinspdx 14y ago
  The headline is accurate (unless hacker-news had one that has one that has now been edited away). If you had read the article you would know precisely what wavelengths the device is applicable to (3rd paragraph even), and why it's an exciting research development.
  - miahi 14y ago
    I think 99% of the readers understand visible light photography when you say "image".
    - jasonwatkinspdx 14y ago
      That's their mistake. Use of the term 'image' for non visible wavelengths is common. Examples: thermal, radar, xray, gamma.
      - thinkingisfun 14y ago
        Oh bullshit. The flat lens eliminates optical aberrations such as the “fish-eye” effect that results from conventional wide-angle lenses. Surely you wouldn't claim that is referring to wide-angle thermal lenses? “In the future we can potentially replace all the bulk components in the majority of optical systems with just flat surfaces,” says lead author Francesco Aieta, a visiting graduate student from the Università Politecnica delle Marche in Italy. “It certainly captures the imagination.” Oh yes it does. If you help the imagination along with misleading phrasing, that is. If you don't believe me, just read the rest of the comments here, most of them expecting to see some application in photography. If you get good glass it'll beat the resolution/noisiness of your sensor anyway. Distortion and aberration can be fixed in software quite well; it sure beats waiting that won't come for a long, long time, if even ever. Don't get me wrong, this is cool for what it actually applies to, but flirting with "capturing the imagination" in such ways gets no respect from me.
  - 001sky 14y ago
    That chart is misleading. The use of the "visible spectrum" to illustrate gradations of "delta" in the IR band is redundant. A luminosity scale, in grey or monotone (say red?) would be more appropriate from a visual design perspective. No?
    - jasonwatkinspdx 14y ago
      False color images are common, but yeah I agree that's somewhat confusing.
  - pdlancar 14y ago
    facebook
russell 14y ago
It's not an article; it's a press release. They're all the same whether they come from Harvard, MIT or Podunk U.

by soup10 14y ago

DenisM 14y ago

Where headline is not accurate, it bears pointing out. I had no idea that this is not in fact a visible light lense.

jasonwatkinspdx 14y ago
The headline is accurate (unless hacker-news had one that has one that has now been edited away). If you had read the article you would know precisely what wavelengths the device is applicable to (3rd paragraph even), and why it's an exciting research development.
- miahi 14y ago
  I think 99% of the readers understand visible light photography when you say "image".
  - jasonwatkinspdx 14y ago
    That's their mistake. Use of the term 'image' for non visible wavelengths is common. Examples: thermal, radar, xray, gamma.
    - thinkingisfun 14y ago
      Oh bullshit. The flat lens eliminates optical aberrations such as the “fish-eye” effect that results from conventional wide-angle lenses. Surely you wouldn't claim that is referring to wide-angle thermal lenses? “In the future we can potentially replace all the bulk components in the majority of optical systems with just flat surfaces,” says lead author Francesco Aieta, a visiting graduate student from the Università Politecnica delle Marche in Italy. “It certainly captures the imagination.” Oh yes it does. If you help the imagination along with misleading phrasing, that is. If you don't believe me, just read the rest of the comments here, most of them expecting to see some application in photography. If you get good glass it'll beat the resolution/noisiness of your sensor anyway. Distortion and aberration can be fixed in software quite well; it sure beats waiting that won't come for a long, long time, if even ever. Don't get me wrong, this is cool for what it actually applies to, but flirting with "capturing the imagination" in such ways gets no respect from me.
- 001sky 14y ago
  That chart is misleading. The use of the "visible spectrum" to illustrate gradations of "delta" in the IR band is redundant. A luminosity scale, in grey or monotone (say red?) would be more appropriate from a visual design perspective. No?
  - jasonwatkinspdx 14y ago
    False color images are common, but yeah I agree that's somewhat confusing.
- pdlancar 14y ago
  facebook

russell 14y ago

It's not an article; it's a press release. They're all the same whether they come from Harvard, MIT or Podunk U.