Althouse: "Visually similar images..."

February 21, 2013

"Visually similar images..."

To my profile picture, according to Google.

47 comments:

edutcher said...: Is there a specific expression or something we need to run in the box?

(Althouse avatar, mayhap?); 2/21/13, 12:07 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Are you not seeing the collection of photos that I see at the link?; 2/21/13, 12:12 PM
AlanKH said...: Althouse, the Christina Aguilera of law professors.; 2/21/13, 12:12 PM
Methadras said...: HA!!! You are similar to Michael Jackson too. Although that picture of Christina Aguilera looks hot.; 2/21/13, 12:13 PM
mccullough said...: The cleavage shots are amusing.; 2/21/13, 12:16 PM
traditionalguy said...: What! Dolly Parton pictures. Google needs to work on this algorithm. Everybody has a mere smile.; 2/21/13, 12:17 PM
edutcher said...: Ann Althouse said...

Are you not seeing the collection of photos that I see at the link?

No, did you type in Ann Althouse.; 2/21/13, 12:17 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: LOL....you and Michael Jackson. So similar.; 2/21/13, 12:19 PM
David said...: Don't feel bad. Every one of them is a human being.; 2/21/13, 12:21 PM
Anonymous said...: If you didn't see pictures at the link you likely to have been clicking from the RSS feed, if you start from this post in your web browser, you would have gotten the gallery of "similar" images.; 2/21/13, 12:33 PM
Anonymous said...: Their algorithm needs work.; 2/21/13, 12:35 PM
Anonymous said...: Their algorithm needs work.; 2/21/13, 12:35 PM
JAL said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/21/13, 12:35 PM
YoungHegelian said...: I'd love to see the code that Google uses to produce this list. It just strikes my not-very-artistically talented eye as not similar at all, so I'm wondering what exactly it is their code looks for.

Since the code is no doubt a well-kept Google corporate secret, I doubt my wish will be granted.; 2/21/13, 12:35 PM
JAL said...: yup. visually similar.; 2/21/13, 12:38 PM
JAL said...: Except it /she has two eyes and no hair.; 2/21/13, 12:39 PM
JAL said...: Little similar things like that.; 2/21/13, 12:40 PM
Unknown said...: Danged new Google interface--how do I turn Safesearch off...?; 2/21/13, 12:41 PM
dreams said...: I guess some days you just don't feel yourself, or look like yourself.; 2/21/13, 12:41 PM
Indigo Red said...: I like this portrait.; 2/21/13, 12:46 PM
ricpic said...: I thought it was interesting that you went through a period of either black and white or very low-color shots of treescapes that were all quite elegant in the way that photo galleries love but weren't the pictures you've taken that were on the wild side and appealed to me more than the super elegant stuff.; 2/21/13, 12:54 PM
Known Unknown said...: No, did you type in Ann Althouse.

Click on the camera in the search bar and you'll get the option of uploading a photo or entering a URL for a photo already online. Then, click search and you'll get your "visually similar" results.; 2/21/13, 12:59 PM
Rosalyn C. said...: I sort of expected Donald Trump too.; 2/21/13, 1:03 PM
Sharkcutie said...: Did you notice Justice Roggensack?; 2/21/13, 1:05 PM
Sharkcutie said...: Did you notice Justice Roggensack?; 2/21/13, 1:06 PM
edutcher said...: Works right away in IE and Safari, no way in Chrome.

I'm assuming it also works in Firefox.

In some ways you should be flattered, I guess, but, compared to most of them, you're better looking.; 2/21/13, 1:07 PM
Baron Zemo said...: How did they miss this one?; 2/21/13, 1:16 PM
ken in tx said...: It works fine with my version of Chrome.; 2/21/13, 1:30 PM
Jdennyv said...: Yo Ann: Nice boobs for an Asian girl. And here for all this time I just assumed you were Jewish. Live & learn I guess. (there is a lesson in there someplace.) <g; 2/21/13, 2:01 PM
John said...: I choose door number three...; 2/21/13, 2:02 PM
Rick Caird said...: It must be true. I always get Ann confused with Malfoy of Harry Potter frame.; 2/21/13, 2:08 PM
JackOfClubs said...: YoungHegelian said...
I'd love to see the code that Google uses to produce this list. [...]2/21/13, 12:35 PM

Me too, though I think I see a bit more similarity from a computer geek perspective. The general rule seems to be: dark background with bright gold in the center and a splash of blue. That works for most of the images in the top two rows, even the Michael Jackson pic. I would have thought that would be lower in the results, but it probably got promoted due to the popularity of Michael Jackson searches. I can't explain the Chinese woman in the green bikini, but heuristic searches often get a few false positives.

But try applying these insights to my profile pic and the same rules don't seem to apply. The color scheme seems completely irrelevant and it goes completely for the playing card content. Not sure how it decides what is relevant.

I do know that I have clicked "Similar" on other images and got no results, which strikes me as very odd. You would think an image would always be visually similar to itself so there should always be at least one.; 2/21/13, 2:09 PM
Rabel said...: My algorithm say Althouse most resembles this lady.; 2/21/13, 2:10 PM
Rabel said...: I'm such a suck-up.; 2/21/13, 2:10 PM
tastid212 said...: the green bikini makes you look .. younger?; 2/21/13, 2:15 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "No, did you type in Ann Althouse."

No. Did you click on the link?

Seems like others can see the linked page that I see, so... I have no idea what's going on for you.; 2/21/13, 2:19 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "If you didn't see pictures at the link you likely to have been clicking from the RSS feed, if you start from this post in your web browser, you would have gotten the gallery of "similar" images."

Thanks, Shawn.; 2/21/13, 2:20 PM
JackOfClubs said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/21/13, 2:21 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Thanks, Rabel!; 2/21/13, 2:21 PM
Bob R said...: I assume they are less similar as you go down. The ones in the first few rows are at least mostly portraits of blond women. But it's interesting that the only right facing profile in those early rows is Michael Jackson. Very strange; 2/21/13, 3:20 PM
Astro said...: So, Captain Sparrow, does this mean we have less to fear from those new google glasses than we'd initially thought?

...of is that just what google wants us to think?; 2/21/13, 3:27 PM
Original Mike said...: Michael Jackson?

Well, as Jay Leno said, "Only in America, could a black man become a white woman."; 2/21/13, 3:37 PM
davis,br said...: The search is almost certainly based primarily upon the filter used.

I applied several different filters to exactly the same photo (which I then uploaded), and got radically different results with each search.

...and as it turned out, one of the filters I used resulted in a radically increased number of, umm, "people engaged in sundry and questionable sexual activities".

Being of a relatively non-prurient nature, I was mostly mildly amused at the result of that filter from the perspective of wondering if Google knew that sort of result was possible, LOL.

Who knew?; 2/21/13, 3:45 PM
Sam L. said...: Many of these are not like the first one.

Google is stupid, or something.; 2/21/13, 5:01 PM
bagoh20 said...: The results I got yesterday for your avatar were mostly not even faces, but very eclectic and interesting images. When I do it, it uses a secure connection for some reason, and Blogger will not allow you to use tags to link it.

It's very different what you have here. Here's a tiny url version. Maybe that will work.

Ann's avitar on LSD; 2/21/13, 5:04 PM
bagoh20 said...: Stuff like this:

Strange; 2/21/13, 5:07 PM
AllenS said...: Althouse, let me explain to you how The Googles work. If you type in Ann Althouse, you'll get everything relating to the word Ann and the word Althouse. If you type in "Ann Althouse" you get just those images for Ann Althouse. Using double quotes is the key. Try it.; 2/22/13, 7:55 AM