The reasoning is dumb, and the concept easily subject to abuse.<p>If you're good at contorting your face for an extended period of time, including whilst you speak, do so for your passport photograph. Think Mr Bean or EmotionEric / <a href="http://emotioneric.com" rel="nofollow">http://emotioneric.com</a><p>Why would you do this?<p>Well I did this for my passport for several reasons, foremost being I detest the idea of facial recognition, it's an invasion of my privacy and my right to digital anonymity. For the same reason I don't have a facebook page, ask friends never to tag me in images and generally avoid photographs. Secondly because passports are archaic hangovers for an era long gone. When I travel (and I do so a fair amount) I only need my ID card to do so and mine uses a picture of me, so old and of such bad quality it's practically useless.<p>It's a small amusement, and when I've actually needed to use the passport, I've yet to meet a passport officer or customs officer who will actually ask "Do you really look like that all the time?" or crack up laughing. But I'm keeping hope alive.
<i>Is this a practical, answerable question based on an actual problem that you face? Are you deciding whether or not to do something based on answers to this question? It's an interesting question, but I don't see how it's in-scope for this stack exchange.</i><p>Tangent: Oh, good god. I guess I should be heartened that it's not just programmers who think this way. What a useless sentiment this is. Stackexchange is like a super smart scientist uncle who has this one weird blind spot for homeopathy or something. It's so frustrating to see this sort of comment over and over.
Back in the day when they just took the photo you gave them and laminated it into the passport, I wondered what would happen if you printed the picture using photo reactive ink.<p>I used to have as a sample some ink that would break down in ultraviolet light and become transparent. The use case was things like printable visitor badges that after 24 hours of exposure to light would say "VOID" on them. Basically they had the word VOID on them, then white photosensitive ink was put over it, and the badge printer printed on top of that ink.<p>So my question was if you created two photos, and then printed over one with another, then after a while the picture in your passport would be different.<p>The challenge I never figured out was you could get this ink in black, or white, but I wasn't sure you could make a black and white print blending the inks that would pass muster. It would have to be opaque enough to cover the picture behind it.<p>Sadly I had to file that idea under "probably won't ever be able to know one way or another." but it might make for an interesting plot mechanism if I get around to writing a thriller.
I used to be some kind of techno-optimist which is why I chose the software-based career path that I did. But now I'm realizing that governments and corporations are actually building The Matrix, and we are all getting plugged into it whether we want it or not.<p>I'm having a crisis of conscience. Even things like the open source movement end up contributing to these scary bureaucracies that are destroying our freedoms. I fear for what will become of humanity over the next few decades.
Is anyone unsatisfied with the "it helps with facial recognition software" response?<p>What part of facial recognition relies on the lack of a smile? I was hoping <i>that</i> would get explained here, and am disappointed that it wasn't.<p>I think everyone assumes it's for facial recognition...
<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=markhacker" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=markhacker</a><p>Also travelhacker and travelstacker. Probably more.<p>Tagged URLs. See the /101?
I can't answer this on the site, but my boss claims that he was partially responsible for this. He worked with the company doing facial recognition software to hunting down kiddie porn makers, which was (I think) moved into terrorism detection (this is in the 2001-2002 timeframe). They couldn't get the facial recognition to work with enough accuracy with anything but a blank facial expression.
You will not be smiling when you are getting interrogated at the airport security so to match your face 100% with your passport photo they don't want you to smile :-)
Is it just me or is the top voted answer not an answer?<p>Q: "Why should cows be colored in blue?"<p>A: Because document ZOIU-123497 says cows should be colored in blue.
> <i>1.9. Coverings, hair, headdress, hats, scarfs, head bands, bandanas or facial ornamentation which obscure the face, are not permitted</i> (except for religious […] reasons).<p>I can't wait for someone to abuse this. I hear some tattoos tend to disrupt facial recognition…