Convolutions are a mathematical tool that combine two functions into a new function; specifically, the new function represents the area under the curve created by the pointwise multiplication of one function as another function is swept over it. If this is difficult to visualize, don't worry; it's easiest to visualize as an animation, which unfortunately we can't print in a book. The mathematical details of convolutions will not be important in this chapter, but I do encourage you to do some additional reading on the topic.
Most image filters—such as blur, sharpen, edge detect, and emboss—can be accomplished with convolution operations. In an image context, convolutions are represented by a convolution ...
