Reasoning verbally about image processing
Working on a new training class in digital camera design, I found it hard to describe the processes and things involved in capturing and processing a 'digital image' without using words that themselves are based on an intuitive understanding of what an image 'is'. Take this statement: "a digital camera takes a picture". It looks straightforward until you look closer and see that it is in fact quite subtle. This is not just because searching for clear definitions can take us in a circle (for instance Google defines a 'picture' as a 'visual representation', a 'representation' as an 'image' and an 'image' as a 'picture'). It is also that the language to reason about images is itself based on imagery. If I want to explain some aspect of an image processing problem then I might choose something to 'illustrate' the problem. Or I might ask you to try to 'see' the problem from a particular 'p...