Resizing an image to 1×1 px with Imagick/GD (default pipeline) averages gamma-encoded sRGB values. The physically correct average — what you see squinting at the photo from across the room — averages in linear light, then re-encodes. Gamma-space averaging skews placeholder colors darker and duller; the gap grows with image contrast. Reference: Eric Brasseur, “Gamma error in picture scaling”. Demo by Marcin Dudek, part of img2gradient.