Have you ever seen those photos where they take one individual and merge their face with that of another? It’s pretty tricky, and part of it has to do with the technology used in facial recognition, and the computational data which can be taken in that process. And just as with Photoshop, the computer merges the images into one. Last weekend there was an interesting Wall Street Journal article that talked about various presidents who were diametrically opposed, and it took each of their pictures and merged them into one.
It was funny to see a picture of Ronald Reagan merged with Jimmy Carter, and another one of Barack Obama merged with President Bush. Nevertheless, I’ve noted that some college professors are now using this technology to merge their faces with famous people, or historical figures which are well ingrained into our minds having studied their profiles. One professor I noted from a prominent university, a professor of psychology who’s written numerous research papers did this to see if anybody would notice.
Obviously, I noticed, as I am writing this article. Since this professor had somewhat similar features to Barack Obama, although he is white, he merged his picture with Barack Obama, and it is displayed on the college website with his biography, research papers etc.. Now then, one has to ask if this is acceptable. First of all he is an authority figure, and although it might be a nice experiment he can put forth in a research paper, it is somewhat a deviant act, involves trickery, and indeed it is a disguise.
Now then, not particularly being a Barack Obama supporter, I laughed, but I also know that many kids are quite indoctrinated into socialist-liberal mindset while they’re in college. Secondly, if this professor is a supporter of Barack Obama, then in a way this is a mental psychological social experiment, which actually uplifts the image of the president, and allows the psychology professor to ride along on Obama’s notoriety, fame, brand, and image as a powerful person, and President of the United States.
Now then, you might say I’m reading too much into this, but since it is occurring, and since manipulating one’s photo may not be illegal on a University website, it is practicing some form of manipulation. And in doing so there are other ramifications, and it’s not all fun and games. If he is doing a research paper, and as he has already will written over 200 of them, then I understand his point, but I’m not so sure it’s maintaining the highest ethical standards. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it in the name of science of psychology.
Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank. Lance Winslow believes writing 23,777 articles by 7 PM on June 27, 2011 is going to be difficult because all the letters on his keyboard are now worn off now..