Images tell stories, trigger emotions, and let us recall memories -- they make us think. Thus, they have the ability to attract and hold one's attention, which is the definition of being "interesting". Yet, the appeal of an image is highly subjective. Looking at the image of my son taking his first steps will always bring me back to this emotional moment, while it is just a blurry, quickly taken snapshot to most others. Preferences vary widely: some adore cats, others are dog enthusiasts, and a third group may not be fond of either. We argue that every image can be interesting to a particular observer under certain circumstances. This work particularly emphasizes subjective preferences. However, our analysis of 2.5k image collections from diverse users of the photo-sharing platform Flickr reveals that specific image characteristics make them commonly more interesting. For instance, images, including professionally taken landscapes, appeal broadly due to their aesthetic qualities. In contrast, subjectively interesting images, such as those depicting personal or niche community events, resonate on a more individual level, often evoking personal memories and emotions.

翻译：图像讲述故事、激发情感并唤起回忆——它们引发我们的思考。因此，图像具有吸引并保持注意力的能力，这正是“有趣”的定义。然而，图像的吸引力具有高度主观性。观看我儿子迈出第一步的照片总会将我带回那个情感充沛的时刻，而对大多数人而言，这只是一张模糊的快照。偏好差异巨大：有人喜爱猫，有人热衷狗，而另一些人可能两者皆不喜。我们认为，在特定情境下，每张图像都可能对特定的观察者产生趣味。本研究特别强调主观偏好。然而，通过对来自图片分享平台Flickr不同用户的2.5千个图像集的分析，我们发现某些图像特征使其普遍更具吸引力。例如，包含专业拍摄的风景图像因其美学特质而广受欢迎。相比之下，主观有趣的图像，如描绘个人或小众社群事件的图片，则在更个体化的层面引发共鸣，常常唤起个人记忆与情感。