# The Pixel: From Cave Paintings to Toy Story

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/decoding-tech-7190029/the-pixel-from-cave-paintings-to-toy-story
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/decoding-tech-7190029/the-pixel-from-cave-paintings-to-toy-story.md
Podcast: [Decoding Tech](https://stenobird.com/podcast/decoding-tech-7190029)
Published: 2026-02-25T13:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/computer-history-museum/episodes/The-Pixel-From-Cave-Paintings-to-Toy-Story-e3fcmak
Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/ffa6cbb0/podcast/play/115808020/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-1-20%2Fa5e2787d-758c-51a3-334e-df8d9c1102ad.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/decoding-tech-7190029/episodes/the-pixel-from-cave-paintings-to-toy-story
Duration seconds: 4323

## Resource

The tiny pixel is the “big idea” that ties all digital imaging together. In this episode, computing‑graphics pioneer and Pixar cofounder Alvy Ray Smith shares insights from his book A Biography of the Pixel , on how this humble building block reshaped art, entertainment, and our digital world. Barbara Robertson , former Senior Editor of Computer Graphics World, moderated the conversation. This CHM Live event was recorded on August 11, 2022, at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. To watch a video of this program, please visit the Computer History Museum's YouTube channel. To learn more about the Computer History Museum and our upcoming CHM Live events, visit our website at www.computerhistory.org

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/decoding-tech-7190029/episodes/the-pixel-from-cave-paintings-to-toy-story/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/decoding-tech-7190029/the-pixel-from-cave-paintings-to-toy-story.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.