[FFmpeg-user] Yes or No? About the processing pipeline.

[Jim DeLaHunt]

On 2025-06-17 10:42, Mark Filipak wrote:
> On 17/06/2025 13.38, BloodMan wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> W dniu 2025-06-17 o 19:01, Mark Filipak pisze:
>>
>>  > That was not a 'Yes' or 'No' response.
>>
>> there are questions that cannot be answered with "yes" or "no"... ;-)
>
> Why not?

I can help with this one.  The wording of a question sets a frame, or a 
context, for thinking about the question and the values,  evidence, or 
emotions which inform the answer one gives. It also influences how 
listeners receive the question and the answer.

Example: the question "Have you stopped beating your wife?" sets up a 
frame that the person being asked is now, or has in the past, beaten 
their wife. Either answer, "yes" or "no", accepts the frame. It forces 
the person answering to declare that they have beaten their spouse. The 
proper response is to reject the frame, by rejecting the question.

Example: the phrases "tax burden" and "tax relief" set up a frame that 
concentrates on the cost of taxes, and obsures the benefits of the 
systems which the taxes pay for.  Compare to the framing of "taxes are 
the dues for membership in a civilized society", which concentrates on 
mutual benefits of the system, and mutual agreement to accept the costs 
to get the benefits.

Example: the statement, "If the input is 8-bit rgb420, then the 
processing pipeline is also 8-bit rgb420", sets up a frame which asserts 
that the name "8-bit rgb420" is meaningful, and that those answering 
will generally agree with the questioner on that meaning. Paul Mahol's 
reply on Tue, 17 Jun 2025 16:50:48 +0000 asserts, "There is no such 
thing like rgb420." Thus it rejects the frame, and rejects the question.

That is the sense in which Mark's questions, e.g. "Yes (true) or No 
(false)? … If the input is 8-bit rgb420, then the processing pipeline is 
also 8-bit rgb420." cannot be answered with "yes" or "no", because it 
sets up an unacceptable frame.

The solution is to ask a better question. If Mark were to choose to 
accept Paul's criticism for the sake of letting the discussion advance, 
he could reword it to, "If the input is 8-bit RGB 4:2:0, then the 
processing pipeline is also 8-bit RGB 4:2:0." Better yet, he could 
consult the FFmpeg source code and documentation and use that 
terminology exactly in his question.

I think that understanding framing is useful for effective 
communication, and applies to technical discussions about video-editing 
software as well as political discussions. Thus I claim that my reply is 
marginally on-topic for this list. The best explanation of framing I 
have read is George Lakoff's book[1], "The ALL NEW Don’t Think of an 
Elephant!".

Best regards,
      —Jim DeLaHunt

[1] 
<https://george-lakoff.com/about/the-all-new-dont-think-of-an-elephant_george-lakoff/> 
(though this is a new edition, and I read the original edition instead)