X-Google-Thread: f996b,772d88a2cb044c38,start X-Google-Thread: 102524,772d88a2cb044c38,start X-Google-Thread: 109d8a,772d88a2cb044c38,start X-Google-Attributes: gidf996b,gid102524,gid109d8a,domainid0,public,usenet X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit Path: g2news2.google.com!news3.google.com!feeder3.cambrium.nl!feeder4.cambrium.nl!feed.tweaknews.nl!amsnews11.chello.com!news.chello.nl.POSTED!not-for-mail From: "jer0en" Newsgroups: alt.ascii-art,alt.math,sci.math Subject: abstraction = compression Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2008 12:27:08 +0200 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1106 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1106 Message-ID: <107cc$489839c8$3ec23315$29800@news.chello.nl> X-Complaints-To: abuse@chello.nl Organization: chello.nl Lines: 20 NNTP-Posting-Host: 62.194.51.21 (62.194.51.21) NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 05 Aug 2008 13:30:16 +0200 X-Trace: 107cc489839c89b6796b029800 Xref: g2news2.google.com alt.ascii-art:1244 alt.math:4444 sci.math:132107 you know this software that turns photographs into pixel grids, using a smart algorithm to decide which pixels in the grid would be black (there) and which white (not there)? they use it on passports now. it's typical police software, originating from the search for automated methods to positively identify people's every characteristics like finger prints, iris scans and now also photographs by abstracting these to so compact a data unit as possible, allowing them to be stored on data carriers with capacities that do not conflict with current reality. well if you would extend the bit decisions of these algorithms (black or white) into byte descisions, using ASCII character set SHAPES instead of pixels (and the space for a blank), provided that the algorith would exist, you could use a PC-XT to turn any digital photograph or picture into an automated piece of ascii-art. which could next be manually adapted to look genuine. don't know of any algorithms to seperate the two.