Auto-Perception of Boob and Blemish Enhancement

Eric Keeand Hany Farid created algorithms to detect which portions of a photograph have been monkeyed with, and how much monkeying was done to each portion. Their study is “A Perceptual Metric for Photo Retouching,” Eric Kee [pictured here — we leave it to you to determine whether the image has been enhanced] and Hany Farid, […]

Offerings online — analysis

Tammy Castle of James Madison University and Jenifer Lee of Texas A&M International University analyzed how prostitution is adapting to the Internet: “Ordering sex in cyberspace: a content analysis of escort websites,” International Journal of Cultural Studies, Vol. 11, No. 1, 107-121 (2008). They report: “The purpose of this study was to uncover information about […]

Early computer-based analysis of scifi

In 1977, William Sims Bainbridge and Murray M. Dalziel wrote “New Maps of Science Fiction.” Published in Analog Yearbook [1977, pp. 277-99], it was one of the first carefully done computer-based social sciencey analyses of science fiction. The essay says (among other things): Our computer has generated many more maps of science fiction, enough for […]

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