# CG versus CGI - have we given up? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 4, 2005, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cg-versus-cgi-have-we-given-up/315599 "2005-08-04T18:19:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cg-versus-cgi-have-we-given-up/315599/41 "2017-02-22T20:52:01Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > Your argument is sort of like saying ‘Stop calling those B’nai B’rith anti-defamation people “ADL!” “ADL” means “API Definition Language!”’ Ha! The three letter acronym “ADL” contains the nested three letter acronym “API”?! I find that amusing, any other examples anyone is aware of? ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cg-versus-cgi-have-we-given-up/315599/42 "2017-02-22T20:58:04Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > Ha! The three letter acronym “ADL” contains the nested three letter acronym “API”?! > > I find that amusing, any other examples anyone is aware of? Just to nitpick myself, they are actually initialisms, not acronyms ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cg-versus-cgi-have-we-given-up/315599/43 "2017-02-22T21:03:17Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > Ha! The three letter acronym “ADL” contains the nested three letter acronym “API”?! > > I find that amusing, any other examples anyone is aware of? GNU stands for GNU’s not UNIX. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cg-versus-cgi-have-we-given-up/315599/44 "2017-02-22T21:18:05Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > I find that amusing, any other examples anyone is aware of? Notice anything interesting about the previously mentioned TLA? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cg-versus-cgi-have-we-given-up/315599/45 "2017-02-22T21:18:59Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > My understanding was that CGI = Computer Generated Imagery and referred specifically to computerised effects in motion pictures. Yes, this is what I’ve always understood “CGI” to mean (and as such, it’s a subset of “special effects”). I would’ve used “computer graphics” to refer to what you see on the screen when you’re using a computer—although that use of the term seems a little retro now that typical computers aren’t as limited in what they can display. “Wow, the PC version of that game has better **computer graphics** than when I played it on my Atari!” ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cg-versus-cgi-have-we-given-up/315599/46 "2017-02-22T21:51:40Z")
By the way, don’t forget that any acronym with more than 3 letters is an XTLA. (Extended Three Letter Acronym). I love jargon. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cg-versus-cgi-have-we-given-up/315599/47 "2017-02-23T00:07:31Z")
Some of my professors in grad school were members of something called the LIST. That’s an acronym for “LISA international science team”. LISA, in turn (a proposed gravitational-wave mission) stood for “Laser Interferometry Space Antenna”. And of course, “Laser” is “Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation”. Aside from the infinite ones like “GNU’s Not Unix”, I’ve never seen a deeper recursive acronym. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cg-versus-cgi-have-we-given-up/315599/48 "2017-02-23T00:31:20Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > Ha! The three letter acronym “ADL” contains the nested three letter acronym “API”?! > > I find that amusing, any other examples anyone is aware of? Related is the [recursive acronym](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recursive_acronym), which seems to be something techies enjoy, for some reason. (GNU has already been mentioned in this thread). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cg-versus-cgi-have-we-given-up/315599/49 "2017-02-23T00:37:51Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Aside from the infinite ones like “GNU’s Not Unix”, I’ve never seen a deeper recursive acronym. I’m not sure I’d call yours a recursive acronym so much as a nested acronym. Looking it up on Wikipedia, it does seem that [nested acronym](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym#Macronyms.2Fnested_acronyms) is a term for this, but also “macronym.” > [@](#): > > In an informal competition run by the magazine New Scientist, a fully documented specimen was discovered that may be the most deeply nested of all: RARS is the “Regional ATOVS Retransmission Service”; ATOVS is “Advanced TOVS”; TOVS is “TIROS operational vertical sounder”; and TIROS is "Television infrared observational satellite ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cg-versus-cgi-have-we-given-up/315599/50 "2017-02-23T01:11:33Z")
> [@Ornery\_Bob](#): > > The whole initialisms and redundancy thing is silly. > > It’s no more redundant to say “IBM machine” than it is to say “Sears machine” or “Wallmart machine.” “IBM” is taken as a whole. It’s the name of the company, the fact that those letters are initials is irrelevant. It’s the same thing for ATM machine, the “ATM” is taken as a whole; it’s a name, not a description. What the letters stand for has no significance, neither grammatically nor semantically. I disagree with your analysis. “I just got some money from an ATM” and “I just got some money from an ATM machine” are more or less identical sentences. “He’s an expert in IBM” and “He’s an expert in IBM machines” are not. ---
**Author:** ![tonyfop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/85f322/32.png) [@tonyfop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tonyfop)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cg-versus-cgi-have-we-given-up/315599/51 "2017-02-23T01:25:19Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > Ha! The three letter acronym “ADL” contains the nested three letter acronym “API”?! > > I find that amusing, any other examples anyone is aware of? The helicopters I work on have a navigation device known as an EGI. EGI stands for Embedded GPS/INU, which then expands to Embedded Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation Unit. I guess EGPSINU was a bit of a mouthful. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cg-versus-cgi-have-we-given-up/315599/52 "2017-02-23T03:00:26Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > I disagree with your analysis. > > “I just got some money from an ATM” and “I just got some money from an ATM machine” are more or less identical sentences. > > “He’s an expert in IBM” and “He’s an expert in IBM machines” are not. I think in many cases the redundancy does help, as we don’t parse initialisms and acronyms by their constituent parts. The objection that redundancy is not desirable or even incorrect in language is, in my opinion, misguided. I would argue that in most cases the redundancy aids in immediate comprehension. To me, “ISBN number” is more immediately understandable vs “ISBN.” If you write about BASIC code, you’re really writing about Beginner’s All-Purpose Instruction Code code, which is redundant. Except that I feel it’s silly to object to its redundancy–it’s a completely natural English construct. Nobody parses down BASIC into its individual components, but rather treats it as its own entity. Same with GOP party or HIV virus or VIN number or AC current, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cg-versus-cgi-have-we-given-up/315599/53 "2017-02-23T10:12:10Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Some of my professors in grad school were members of something called the LIST. That’s an acronym for “LISA international science team”. LISA, in turn (a proposed gravitational-wave mission) stood for “Laser Interferometry Space Antenna”. And of course, “Laser” is “Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation”. So the fully exploded name would be Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation Interferometry Space Antenna International Science Team, or LASERISAIST. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cg-versus-cgi-have-we-given-up/315599/54 "2017-02-23T10:31:54Z")
I’ve been around computers and technology for more than two decades and I’ve only _ever_ heard of computer animation/special effects being referred to as CGI (Computer Generated Imagery). Never heard of CG before this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cg-versus-cgi-have-we-given-up/315599/55 "2017-02-23T11:03:10Z")
Also, isn’t “computer graphics” redundant? What other kinds of graphics are there? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cg-versus-cgi-have-we-given-up/315599/56 "2017-02-23T11:03:50Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > So the fully exploded name would be Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation Interferometry Space Antenna International Science Team, or LASERISAIST. Yeah, they had to shorten it when their shoulder patch embroiderers kept having nervous breakdowns. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cg-versus-cgi-have-we-given-up/315599/57 "2017-02-23T12:29:45Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Also, isn’t “computer graphics” redundant? What other kinds of graphics are there? Certainly not. Any kind of drawing or illustration is “graphics”. “Computer graphics” is that subset of graphics that is made using a computer. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cg-versus-cgi-have-we-given-up/315599/58 "2017-02-23T12:43:49Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > Certainly not. Any kind of drawing or illustration is “graphics”. “Computer graphics” is that subset of graphics that is made using a computer. And yet, every graphic artist I know works on a computer. In fact, the main difference between an “artist” and a “graphic artist” is that the latter operate almost exclusively in a digital environment. It may have been different in the past, but in 2017, “graphics” means computers. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cg-versus-cgi-have-we-given-up/315599/59 "2017-02-23T12:52:46Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > And yet, every graphic artist I know works on a computer. In fact, the main difference between an “artist” and a “graphic artist” is that the latter operate almost exclusively in a digital environment. > > It may have been different in the past, but in 2017, “graphics” means computers. Even in your own text you indicate that many artists currently using computers do not exclusively use them. And not every graphic artist in the world uses a computer to paint. Yes, that includes some who have access to computers. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cg-versus-cgi-have-we-given-up/315599/60 "2017-02-23T13:01:40Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > And yet, every graphic artist I know works on a computer. In fact, the main difference between an “artist” and a “graphic artist” is that the latter operate almost exclusively in a digital environment. > > It may have been different in the past, but in 2017, “graphics” means computers. Waaay back when you had to say “digital computer” since just “computer” could also mean an analog computer or a human computer (as in _Hidden Figures_). While no longer needed, it doesn’t make it wrong to say “digital computer”. Ergo “computer graphics” is still a cromulent term. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cg-versus-cgi-have-we-given-up/315599.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cg-versus-cgi-have-we-given-up/315599.md?page=4)