Since most image-processing operations, such as sharpening up a fuzzy document, or altering the colours in a photograph, involve looking at the value of a particular pixel and then altering it depending on the value of adjacent pixels, this is a real advantage.

ECONOMIST: Analogue computing

The young artist award went to 28-year-old Sertan Saltan, who lives in New York, for her image of a woman in hair rollers and latex gloves glancing "menacingly" at the artist while sharpening a large knife.

BBC: Wim Heldens wins 2011 BP Portrait Award