# Stupid Computer tricks in Television and Movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 26, 2025, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-computer-tricks-in-television-and-movies/1021359 "2025-07-26T15:30:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**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:** [July 29, 2025, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-computer-tricks-in-television-and-movies/1021359/101 "2025-07-29T18:51:44Z")
> [@Driver8](#): > > Don’t forget “uncrop” and “flop”! Of course, we do now have computer programs that can uncrop an image. Who knows if what’s there is the same as it was before the crop, but it looks right. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-computer-tricks-in-television-and-movies/1021359/102 "2025-07-29T19:05:21Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > I still haven’t gotten a computer to be able to rotate an image and show something behind an obstruction as Harrison Ford did in _Blade Runner_ but I’m waiting for some optics genius to explain how that can be done by anti-aliasing and reverse ray-tracing on a static image. That would solve so many more crimes if you could image the person taking the picture! At the MIT Media Lab they did have a project to use ray tracing of light and shadow to effectively “see around corners”. It gave you a really blobby, indistinct image, but I’m still pretty amazed that it worked at all. Of course, it was far too indistinct to use for any sort of identification or crime solving. The best it could give you was “there’s something behind that wall.” > [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > ---
**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:** [July 29, 2025, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-computer-tricks-in-television-and-movies/1021359/103 "2025-07-29T19:13:13Z")
Was that the one based on sub-nanosecond light pulses, and the time for the “light echo” to arrive? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-computer-tricks-in-television-and-movies/1021359/104 "2025-07-29T19:16:00Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > In “Watchmen” the computer belonging to Adrian Veidt helpfully lets you know that you left off the last few characters of the password: That’s hilarious because best practice in announcing failed login attempts is to not mention whether it’s the user name or the password that is wrong, or possibly both – i.e.- give the suspected attacker as little information as possible, and then lock the account after about three failed attempts but don’t announce that, either. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-computer-tricks-in-television-and-movies/1021359/105 "2025-07-29T19:32:50Z")
Yeah. And best practice is also to not display the characters you’ve just typed, either ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-computer-tricks-in-television-and-movies/1021359/106 "2025-07-29T21:19:07Z")
Whatever happened to getting locked out if you fail to type the password a certain number of time? “My program/machine goes through thousands of possible combinations a second!” does no good if you are locked out after a few tries. And would a program futz up royally if you tried to enter that many combinations that fast? ---
**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:** [July 29, 2025, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-computer-tricks-in-television-and-movies/1021359/107 "2025-07-29T21:33:33Z")
It depends on the attack vector. If you’re loading the same login screen as everyone else and going through that, then yes, you’re probably going to run into a maximum-number-of-attempts timeout. But if, say, you’ve gotten ahold of the computer’s master password file, then you can take your time cracking it on your own computer. If the security is good and you’re using a good password, you’ll still be secure even then, but the attacker can still get all of those idiots with insecure passwords. It’s also possible that you’ve discovered some security hole that lets you attempt to log into the computer through more-or-less normal channels, but avoiding the timeouts, through some API or something. Shouldn’t work, but sometimes might. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-computer-tricks-in-television-and-movies/1021359/108 "2025-07-29T21:44:37Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Enhance! Got an image enhancer that can bitmap? [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Vxq9yj2pVWk/hqdefault.jpg "Let's Enhance") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxq9yj2pVWk) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-computer-tricks-in-television-and-movies/1021359/109 "2025-07-29T22:13:26Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Was that the one based on sub-nanosecond light pulses, and the time for the “light echo” to arrive? No, although that was fascinating, too. It was this, I think: > **[At MIT, they find a way to see around corners](https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna46798157)** > > Superman had X-ray vision, but a pair of scientists has gone one better: seeing around corners. > **[MIT Wizards Invent Tech That Sees Around Corners](https://www.wired.com/story/mit-wizards-invent-tech-that-sees-around-corners/)** > > Engineers at MIT have developed a clever and surprisingly simple way to see around corners, thanks to the hidden wonders of light. and this > **[Using reflections to see the world from new points of view](https://news.mit.edu/2023/using-reflections-shiny-objects-camera-0510)** > > MIT researchers developed a computer vision technique that uses reflections to turn any object in a scene into a camera, allowing an observer to view the scene from that object’s point of view. The machine-learning method lets the user place a... ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-computer-tricks-in-television-and-movies/1021359/110 "2025-07-29T22:23:10Z")
“Zoom & enhance” is older than TV, and older than high-speed computers. AFAIK, the first use was a 1948 James Stewart film _Call Northside 777_. Tried to explain the plot RE: zoom & enhance with a spoiler, but apparently the set up is different now. A photojournalist’s shot of a man being taken into a police station in custody, is blown up some 200 times (maybe more) to read the date on a newspaper held by a newsboy across the street. By proving that it was a certain date, and not a day later, a reporter is able to prove that a key witness, who is clearly a bystander, saw the man in custody that day, and not for the first time (ostensibly since the crime) when she was on record of identifying him in a police line-up. This gets the case dismissed and the man freed from a life sentence. Nevermind got it. Just a fleshwound. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-computer-tricks-in-television-and-movies/1021359/111 "2025-07-29T22:28:52Z")
If you mean where the devil did they hide the Spoiler button, you have to scroll to the bottom of the additional features drop down box. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-computer-tricks-in-television-and-movies/1021359/112 "2025-07-29T22:31:19Z")
Actually, no-- I used to type spoilers in-- but if there’s a button, I’ll use it. What dropdown box? Nevermind. Found it. But what it put in was exactly what I had typed. Why didn’t it put up a spoiler? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-computer-tricks-in-television-and-movies/1021359/113 "2025-07-29T22:33:20Z")
Bottom of the (+) menu: [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/3LRxtJ8.png "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/3LRxtJ8) ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-computer-tricks-in-television-and-movies/1021359/114 "2025-07-29T22:35:23Z")
👍 👍 ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2025, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-computer-tricks-in-television-and-movies/1021359/115 "2025-07-29T22:35:34Z")
ninja’d ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2025, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-computer-tricks-in-television-and-movies/1021359/116 "2025-07-30T03:43:54Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Tried to explain the plot RE: zoom & enhance with a spoiler, but apparently the set up is different now. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/t8tCS6cM7DI/hqdefault.jpg "The Greatest Visual Gag Ever - Mel Brooks High Anxiety") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8tCS6cM7DI) ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2025, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-computer-tricks-in-television-and-movies/1021359/117 "2025-07-30T03:50:43Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > AFAIK, the first use was a 1948 James Stewart film _Call Northside 777_. _Call Northside 777_ may be the source of the ‘zoom and enhance’ meme, but Michelangelo Antonioni’s _Blow-Up_ takes it to his post-modernist conclusion that [if you look at anything too closely, nothing is real](https://youtu.be/J233dtTCgR4?si=6mhP1B5a5UgOjv79). Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2025, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-computer-tricks-in-television-and-movies/1021359/118 "2025-07-30T03:55:17Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Yeah. And best practice is also to not display the characters you’ve just typed, either. I always hate that, I can’t tell when I’ve mistyped and have locked myself out of my own accounts more than once without even knowing what I did wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2025, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-computer-tricks-in-television-and-movies/1021359/119 "2025-07-30T08:12:19Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Yeah. And best practice is also to not display the characters you’ve just typed, either. Why? Unless someone is watching me on CCTV with a really good zoom and enhance feature, nobody will see what I’m typing. > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I always hate that, I can’t tell when I’ve mistyped and have locked myself out of my own accounts more than once without even knowing what I did wrong. In many apps it’s possible to turn off that feature so you can see what you’re typing. Just click on the eye icon. I always do. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2025, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-computer-tricks-in-television-and-movies/1021359/120 "2025-07-30T11:20:34Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Michelangelo Antonioni’s _Blow-Up_ Oh, yeah! I’ve seen that-- didn’t think of it with this thread, though. But great film. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-computer-tricks-in-television-and-movies/1021359.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-computer-tricks-in-television-and-movies/1021359.md?page=7)