Z-buffer
n.— «Catmull invented texture mapping (the way to make digital surfaces “pour” over objects), the Z-buffer (an algorithm that tracks the virtual distance between pixels and a viewer, now standard in most personal computers and games), and the Catmull-Rom spline (another algorithm that creates curves along multiple points, producing irregular motion that mimics the way living things really move).» —“Welcome to Planet Pixar” by Austin Bunn Wired June, 2004. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
What if, instead of being an inanimate object, a dictionary were alive? That’s the idea behind a lavishly illustrated new children’s book called The Dictionary Story (Bookshop|Amazon) by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston. This is part of a...
Astronauts returning from space say they experience what’s called the overview effect, a new understanding of the fragility of our planet and our need to reflect on what humans all share as a species. A book about the end of the universe...