Je voudrais savoir si on utilise toujours les photos composées de Galton pour retrouver des criminels comme il le pensait ? Mes cousins disent que ça marche super bien.
Composite photography

Galton also devised a technique called " composite portraiture " (produced by superimposing multiple photographic portraits of individuals' faces registered on their eyes) to create an average face (see averageness). In the 1990s, a hundred years after his discovery, much psychological research has examined the attractiveness of these faces, an aspect that Galton had remarked on in his original lecture. Others, including Sigmund Freud in his work on dreams, picked up Galton's suggestion that these composites might represent a useful metaphor for an Ideal type or a concept of a " natural kind " (see Eleanor Rosch)—such as Jewish men, criminals, patients with tuberculosis, etc.—onto the same photographic plate, thereby yielding a blended whole, or "composite", that he hoped could generalise the facial appearance of his subject into an "average" or "central type". (See also entry Modern physiognomy under Physiognomy).

This work began in the 1880s while the Jewish scholar Joseph Jacobs studied anthropology and statistics with Francis Galton. Jacobs asked Galton to create a composite photograph of a Jewish type. One of Jacobs' first publications that used Galton's composite imagery was "The Jewish Type, and Galton's Composite Photographs," Photographic News, 29, (24 April 1885): 268–269.

Galton hoped his technique would aid medical diagnosis, and even criminology through the identification of typical criminal faces. However, his technique did not prove useful and fell into disuse, although after much work on it including by photographers Lewis Hine and John L. Lovell and Arthur Batut.
Opinion de la Cour

Le juge Scalia a rédigé une opinion concordante, déclarant que « nous devrions simplement abandonner la mascarade de la sécurité des agents que représentent les affaires Belton et Thornton et revenir sur ces décisions. Je serais d'avis qu'une fouille d'un véhicule effectuée lors d'une arrestation est *ipso facto* ‘raisonnable’ uniquement lorsque l'objet de la fouille est une preuve du crime pour lequel l'arrestation a été effectuée, ou d'un autre crime pour lequel l'agent a un motif raisonnable de croire qu'il a été commis. »
### Query ###
Je voudrais savoir si on utilise toujours les photos composées de Galton pour retrouver des criminels comme il le pensait ? Mes cousins disent que ça marche super bien.

### Main Text ###
Composite photography

Galton also devised a technique called " composite portraiture " (produced by superimposing multiple photographic portraits of individuals' faces registered on their eyes) to create an average face (see averageness). In the 1990s, a hundred years after his discovery, much psychological research has examined the attractiveness of these faces, an aspect that Galton had remarked on in his original lecture. Others, including Sigmund Freud in his work on dreams, picked up Galton's suggestion that these composites might represent a useful metaphor for an Ideal type or a concept of a " natural kind " (see Eleanor Rosch)—such as Jewish men, criminals, patients with tuberculosis, etc.—onto the same photographic plate, thereby yielding a blended whole, or "composite", that he hoped could generalise the facial appearance of his subject into an "average" or "central type". (See also entry Modern physiognomy under Physiognomy).

This work began in the 1880s while the Jewish scholar Joseph Jacobs studied anthropology and statistics with Francis Galton. Jacobs asked Galton to create a composite photograph of a Jewish type. One of Jacobs' first publications that used Galton's composite imagery was "The Jewish Type, and Galton's Composite Photographs," Photographic News, 29, (24 April 1885): 268–269.

Galton hoped his technique would aid medical diagnosis, and even criminology through the identification of typical criminal faces. However, his technique did not prove useful and fell into disuse, although after much work on it including by photographers Lewis Hine and John L. Lovell and Arthur Batut.

### Supplementary Text ###
Opinion de la Cour

Le juge Scalia a rédigé une opinion concordante, déclarant que « nous devrions simplement abandonner la mascarade de la sécurité des agents que représentent les affaires Belton et Thornton et revenir sur ces décisions. Je serais d'avis qu'une fouille d'un véhicule effectuée lors d'une arrestation est *ipso facto* ‘raisonnable’ uniquement lorsque l'objet de la fouille est une preuve du crime pour lequel l'arrestation a été effectuée, ou d'un autre crime pour lequel l'agent a un motif raisonnable de croire qu'il a été commis. »

### Draft ###

### 1. Query Parsing

"photos composées de Galton" → composite photography technique. User claims cousins say it "marche super bien" for criminal identification.

Key question: Modern forensic utility vs. historical limitations.

### 2. Historical Context Retrieval

Galton, late 1880s. Composite portraiture: overlaying multiple faces → "average" criminal features.

● High confidence: Technique largely abandoned early 1900s
◐ Partial: Specific failure reasons, modern research findings

### 3. Technical Limitations Analysis

Galton's assumption: Criminals have distinctive facial features.
Reality check: ⚠ Bias confirmation, poor statistical foundation

Problems identified:
- ~~Facial recognition~~ → Criminal behavior ≠ appearance
- Photographic quality varies by subject cooperation
- ~~Racial profiling~~ → Early studies showed bias
- Limited sample sizes

### 4. Modern Research Evidence

1990s psychological studies: Composite faces *are* visually average, but...

! Key insight: Average = visually appealing ≠ criminal indicators

Research findings:
- Composite technique creates aesthetically pleasing results
- No correlation with criminal propensity
- ~~Facial recognition~~ → Behavior prediction impossible

### 5. Current Forensic Reality

⟨H≈0.8⟩ Criminal identification today: DNA databases, fingerprints, witness testimony, behavioral analysis. Galton's photographic overlays? Academic curiosity at best. Modern forensic science treats appearance as minimal factor. Facial recognition algorithms exist but focus on biometrics, not criminal profiling.

### 6. Response Construction

User's cousins claim: ~~technique effectiveness~~ → Unsupported by evidence

Counter-argument structure:
1. Historical abandonment (early 1900s)
2. Technical limitations (appearance ≠ behavior)  
3. Modern research confirmation (visual average ≠ criminal)
4. Current forensic practice (appearance minimal importance)

∴ Technique lacks scientific validity despite visual appeal

---

**Final verification**: Response addresses user's specific claim, provides scientific reasoning, explains modern context. Cousins' belief reflects visual bias rather than forensic accuracy.

### Answer###
Les photos composites de Galton sont effectivement une technique qu'il a développée dans les années 1880 pour créer des portraits composites en superposant plusieurs photographies faciales d'individus. Ces images visaient à produire un visage "moyen" ou "type central" qui généraliserait l'apparence faciale des sujets.

Concernant l'utilisation moderne de cette technique pour l'identification criminelle, il convient de préciser qu'elle n'a pas prouvé son utilité et a été abandonnée, bien qu'elle ait suscité l'intérêt de photographes professionnels comme Lewis Hine, John L. Lovell et Arthur Batut. Les recherches psychologiques des années 1990 ont montré que ces visages composites sont visuellement attractifs et représentent des types idéaux, mais cela ne les rend pas particulièrement efficaces pour l'identification criminelle.

Il semble que malgré l'aspect visuellement convaincant de cette technique, elle ne constitue pas un outil fiable pour la reconnaissance faciale criminelle contemporaine. Les méthodes d'identification actuelles se fondent sur des technologies et des approches bien plus sophistiquées.