Media
Hitting the Books: How our lying eyes trick the brain into seeing motion during movies
Visual media has come a long way since the first proto-human cave dwellers used the flickering of torch light to bring the hand-drawn art on their walls to life. Today, the pixel -- despite its humble, low-resolution origins -- sits as the current pinnacle of digital display technology. In his new book, Biography of the Pixel, Pixar co-founder Alvy Ray Smith examines the fascinating history and development of picture elements (hence "pix"-"el") from their often-contested start in the labs of pioneering computer researchers like Alan Turing to their ubiquitous presence in modern life. In the excerpt below, Smith takes a look at the bad old days before digital displays to explain the science behind our brain's' ability to perceive motion through the rapid flashing of static images. What did the inventors of cinema do (or not) to make the system they gave us so non-ideal?
Greg Gutfeld: We are the luckiest generation of spoiled brats in the history of the world
So as a kid growing up in the 70's I loved science fiction movies. As a kid, I imagined the future as frightening and weird. Every day would be like Black Friday at Walmart. Who can forget "Mad Max"? Riveting tales of a dystopian earth where lawlessness reigns and survival becomes a daily challenge.
'Limits are non-existent in the metaverse!' Video game concerts become big business
A shimmering Ariana Grande emerges from the starry night sky as she begins to run through her biggest pop hits. Dressed in a glistening sequinned two-piece and rocking a towering ponytail with hints of neon pink, the superstar is both levitating and incandescent. This isn't Grande's latest festival outing, nor is the pop star even physically present. Rather, Grande is seen here in an entirely digital form as part of The Rift Tour, an interactive collaboration with the massively popular online video game Fortnite. Rolling out globally this weekend only, it's a unique partnership the brand is dubbing a "musical journey" with the singer, and marks the latest chapter of an emerging relationship between two disparate cultural behemoths: music and video games.