ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Stanford dragon

Hey there little buddy! Have you ever heard of the Stanford Dragon? No? Well, let me tell you all about it.

The Stanford Dragon is a really cool computer graphics object that looks just like a dragon. You know, like the ones from your favorite fairy tales and story books. But the thing is, this dragon isn't real - it's just a bunch of computer code!

It was created by some really smart computer scientists at Stanford University. They used a special program to design the dragon, and they made it look very detailed and lifelike. It has scales, wings, claws, and a big tail - just like a real dragon!

Do you know what computer graphics are? It's when people use computers to make pictures and videos that look real. And that's exactly what the Stanford Dragon is. It's a computer-generated image that looks like a real dragon.

The reason why the Stanford Dragon is so special is that it's really hard to make something like this. The computer scientists at Stanford had to use a lot of math and special programs to make the dragon look so amazing. And they did it all the way back in 1997, before computers were as fancy as they are today.

Now, the Stanford Dragon is used by a lot of scientists and artists who study computer graphics. They use it to test out new programs and techniques, to see how they can make pictures and videos look even better. And sometimes, they just enjoy looking at the dragon because it's so cool!

So there you have it, little buddy - the Stanford Dragon is a computer-generated image of a dragon that looks super real, and it was created by some really smart computer scientists at Stanford University. Isn't technology amazing?
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