Enjoy your

failures
misfortunes
accidents
What is Research about ?
Research is about Questions

Computers are useless.

They can only give you answers.
Pablo Picasso
( common attribution )
 What are good Questions ?

NOAA:
A good scientific question is one that
can have an answer.

Wittgenstein:
The riddle does not exist.
If a question can be put at all,
then it can also be answered.
 What does this mean ?

Questions are created and formulated

within our current experience and
knowledge !

Even worse . . .
Humans are social.
We seek approval and group acceptance.
 This means:
We ask questions for which
(a) we know the answer and that
(b) reconfirm our group opinion
at least if we are human !

.. the brain releases more of the reward chemical dopamine

when we fall in line with the group consensus
V. Klucharev, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Nijmegen
(Neuron, vol 61, p 140)
( source: “How to control a herd of humans”, NewScientist 4. Feb. 2009 )
 Finding the Line:

If your prediction was correct:

what have you learned ?

If your prediction was wrong:

what might you learn ?
Some (personal) Examples:

Image Enhancement:
A flat histogram has the best
“information”.

but:
„flattening the log()“
looks better ? ? ?
( internal software package )
 Conventional wisdom:

Y(i,j) Flat{Y(i,j)} Flat{ log Y(i,j) }

 Conventional wisdom:

Image Enhancement:
A flat “log” histogram has the best
appearance.

BUT ! ! !
L*  Y1/3 and not L*  log( Y )
 New wisdom:
Flat Log 1/Cube
New wisdom: short-lived !

L´  Y1/3
Programming error !
L´  log( Y1/3 )

What to do, if a programming error

beats your theory ? ? ?
Enjoy !
Some (personal) Examples:

- c(l)d
R (l) = P (l)

How does Colour change

when I change the paper ?
 Beer:

- c(l)di 0.07

Ri(l) = Pi(l) 0.06

0.05
0.04
0.03
P2 0.02

R2(l) = R1(l) 0.01

P1 0.00
-0.01
-0.02
 was known not to work:

- c(l)d
R (l) = P (l)

Allow variations in surface adhesion !

 Beer:

- c(l)di
Ri(l) = Pi(l)

P2 0.07
0.06
R2(l) = R1(l) 0.05
P1 0.04
0.03

d2 0.02

[ ]
P2 d1
0.01
0.00
R2(l) = R1(l) -0.01
P1 -0.02
 0.07
0.06

Too bad ! 0.05

0.04
0.03

Ouch ! ! 0.02
0.01
0.00
-0.01
-0.02

0.06
0.07
0.04
0.05
0.02
0.03

0.01 0.00

-0.01 -0.02

-0.03 -0.04

-0.05
-0.06
-0.07
 0.07
0.06

Or ? 0.05
0.04
0.03
0.02
0.01
0.00
-0.01
-0.02

0.06
0.07
0.04
0.05
0.02
0.03

0.01 0.00

-0.01 -0.02

-0.03 -0.04

-0.05
-0.06
-0.07
 Misfortune:
re-labeled !
The perfect colour

accurate
precise
error free
ΔE = 0

Objective Metrics !
Can we envision:
!%$?§!
Perfect !!
ΔE = 0
Automatic adjustment
Sounds simple
Digital Paper
maybe not . .
Digital Paper

Distortion
likely not . .
Digital Paper

en
wat t dt
schei

Distortion
Scribble
certainly not . .
Digital Paper

en
wat t dt
schei

Distortion
Scribble
Punch Holes
actually: it is hard . .
Digital Paper

en
wat t dt
schei

Distortion
Scribble Coffee Stain
Punch Holes
George Bernard Shaw:

The reasonable man adapts

himself to the world;
the unreasonable one persists in
trying to adapt the world to
himself.
Therefore all progress depends on
the unreasonable man.
Thank
You !!