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Finding Lena Forsen, the Patron Saint of JPEGs

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Re: Finding Lena Forsen, the Patron Saint of JPEGs

#71

Post by IshKebab »

ska wrote: post #45
GuB-42 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It there a reason why these images "no longer represent the best examples for future research"? How is Lena inferior to the other "female" images? Lena seems to offer a good mix of highly detailed textures, smooth gradients and sharp edges. Maybe there are copyright reasons but Playboy seems to be fine with the use that the Lena image is made of.

Lena is problematic for technical reasons, it’s not PC pushback. The scanning technology of the time was somewhat limited, and the exact parameters are not known if I recall correctly. And of course it is fairly low resolution by current standards. It’s a scan of a reproduction of a production image on magazine paper - something quite different than a photograph. All of these processes introduce characteristic degrad…

There are plenty of other even lower resolution images in the set that they haven't removed.

Re: Finding Lena Forsen, the Patron Saint of JPEGs

#72

Post by int_19h »

jabberthemutt wrote: post #67
rococode wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't that just how language works? When a name doesn't suit your language's writing system it's natural to adapt it in a way that's more accessible. English simply doesn't have an acute accent. It's why people in English speaking countries are named Michael (or one of the 50+ alternatives) instead of the original מִיכָאֵל, or why BBC reports on Chinese President Xi Jinping instead of Chinese President 习近平.

It is also natural to be attracted to sweet pictures of the other sex. But this whole article pushes the mindset that this is not ok. So I would argue that ignorance of proper spellings (in the same alphabet! Your examples are misleading) marginalizes them.

It's not the same alphabet. English alphabet is distinct from the Swedish alphabet, they just happen to use the same writing system.

Re: Finding Lena Forsen, the Patron Saint of JPEGs

#74

Post by xanipher »

BurningCycles wrote: post #33
underwater wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because it makes a significant portion of the population feel objectified? This is literally what happened to "Lenna" - the image didn't celebrate or honour her as a person. It was an image protraying an unrealistic "beautiful thing". People didn't even know her real name, or what she's achieved as a real person. It's perfectly reasonable and rational for women to say this makes it harder for them to be perceived as…

So when my two sisters were plastering their walls with very good looking males to which they masturbated, it was making it harder for me as a male to be percieved as being equal ? Or the fanservice aimed at females in current-day shows like Riverdale where these hot guys throw off their shirts at the hint of an opportunity ? This idea that it is somehow wrong to appreciate and find pleasure in the physical appearanc…

This is not about personal "pleasure in the physical appearance", but about the culture where using Playboy photos in a professional cobtext doesn't raise any eyebrows.

Re: Finding Lena Forsen, the Patron Saint of JPEGs

#75

Post by FartyMcFarter »

regularfry wrote: post #7
FartyMcFarter wrote: post #3

> The small army of women who had worked as so-called computers during the first half of the 20th century were leaving the tech industry in droves, as computing went from being perceived as a form of menial labor to a more cerebral, masculine pursuit. Isn't this rather misleading? Obviously there were women in early computing who were very influential. But weren't the "human computers" in fact performing tedious and…

No, it's not misleading. The change was in perception, not in the nature of the task. Yes, there were women who did rote calculations, but those weren't the roles influential to how the role evolved.

But the quoted sentence explicitly mentions an "army of women" doing human computer jobs.

Re: Finding Lena Forsen, the Patron Saint of JPEGs

#76

Post by craigsmansion »

jordigh wrote: post #38

I feel that whenever Lena is mentioned, we should also give a shoutout to the researchers who were fed up with her and decided to use Fabio instead. https://arxiv.org/abs/1202.6429 What do you guys (yes, guys) think about making Fabio the standard image instead?

> we should also give a shoutout

No, we shouldn't.

Them using a different image in their research is perfectly acceptable--when one spends hours looking at something rendering, one shouldn't have to look at something one objects to--but referring to the research as a social statement diminishes the scientific value by framing it as a publicity stunt.

Also, apart from using research time/money for licensing: "lena" has become shorthand for "face-female-with-various-patterns" and is a historical accident. "Fabio" will always be Fabio, a commercial model; a less than optimal choice for a scientific paper.

Re: Finding Lena Forsen, the Patron Saint of JPEGs

#77

Post by taneq »

jahewson wrote: post #20
iamleppert wrote: post #12

What’s wrong with female beauty? It’s not like it’s porn or a nude image. I’m not even a straight male but I can still appreciate female beauty and I don’t think it’s sexist. The photo is more artistic than anything. I wonder if the same people who complain about this photo lodge similar complaints when they visit art museums that have female nudity in oil paintings or nude female sculptures? I know nudity and even a…

No, it is a nude image. They just cropped out her face. Google it. I have no idea why the article didn’t actually point that out? Once you understand that the piece makes sense.

Heh, I had that as my desktop background for a while back in university. By modern standards it's fairly tasteful and inoffensive - I saw a poster publicly displayed outside a lingerie shop yesterday which was more provocative.

Re: Finding Lena Forsen, the Patron Saint of JPEGs

#78

Post by legostormtroopr »

crankylinuxuser wrote: post #34
v64 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's important to keep in mind that Lena Forsen (and the other models of Playboy) made the decision to be photographed nude and to have those photos published as a creative expression. To portray the exhibition as exploitative robs them of their agency and demeans their decision.

As long as a "gun" is held to our collective heads stating 'you will surrender your bodies to work or starve on the street', there is no such thing as making a voluntary decision like what you say. Look no further than the article: > “I didn’t really know what that was,” she told me. “But my husband, he thought it was kind of cool, and it was money, and I didn’t have a lot of money.” And what did she get? > After her…

> 'you will surrender your bodies to work or starve on the street' As opposed to all of the coal miners and bricklayers who work for fun.

Re: Finding Lena Forsen, the Patron Saint of JPEGs

#79

Post by taneq »

jordigh wrote: post #38

I feel that whenever Lena is mentioned, we should also give a shoutout to the researchers who were fed up with her and decided to use Fabio instead. https://arxiv.org/abs/1202.6429 What do you guys (yes, guys) think about making Fabio the standard image instead?

I'd have no issue with it, but then I have no issue with the Lena image. Of course, anyone who does have an issue with Lena would have equal issue with a male equivalent, if they're not a hypocrite.

Re: Finding Lena Forsen, the Patron Saint of JPEGs

#80

Post by Walf »

legostormtroopr wrote: post #78
crankylinuxuser wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As long as a "gun" is held to our collective heads stating 'you will surrender your bodies to work or starve on the street', there is no such thing as making a voluntary decision like what you say. Look no further than the article: > “I didn’t really know what that was,” she told me. “But my husband, he thought it was kind of cool, and it was money, and I didn’t have a lot of money.” And what did she get? > After her…

> 'you will surrender your bodies to work or starve on the street' As opposed to all of the coal miners and bricklayers who work for fun.

If you'd read the entire comment, you'd have seen that those labourers were well and truly included.
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