It always amazes me how things we think of as high-tech modern innovations were often known by people a long time ago. There have always been ingenious people, and sometimes they achieved things long before I would have thought it possible. Archimedes almost invented calculus thousands of years ago, and the Greeks knew the distance to the moon and sun[1]. A little ingenuity can figure something out from simple principles; always a reminder that each person in history were living, breathing, thinking people as real as you and I, with a unique viewpoint and achievements. 1. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Sizes_and_Distances_(Ar...]

That immediately reminded me of "Tim's Vermeer", have you seen it? Software guy Tim hypothesizes that Vermeer was tracing rays using an optical setup without strings, maybe vaguely similar to Dürer's. He sets out to recreate the device and Vermeer's painting's. It's a wonderful project.

I haven't seen it, but I just watched the trailer. Looks like an awesome documentary, thanks!

This is both funny and awful at the same time. I've been in graphics forever, and his name alone demands respect. He's so much of a corner stone, since forever, that it never occurred to me that the guy might still be alive, let alone working at Nvidia Research! Nvidia Research seems to have scooped up all of the legends.