We define two measures on views: view likelihood and view stability. V
iew likelihood measures the probability that a certain view of a given
3D object is observed; it may be used to identity typical, or ''chara
cteristic,'' views. View stability measures how little the image chang
es as the viewpoint is slightly perturbed; it may be used to identify
''generic'' views. Both definitions are shown to be identical up to th
e prior probability of camera orientations, and determined by the 2D m
etric used to compare images. We analytically derive the stability and
likelihood measures for two feature-based 2D metrics, where the most
stable and most likely view is shown to be the flattest view of the 3D
shape. Incorporating view likelihood or stability in 3D object recogn
ition and 3D reconstruction increases the chance of robust performance
. In particular, we propose to use these measures to enhance 3D object
recognition and 3D reconstruction algorithms, by adding a second step
where the most likely solution is selected among all feasible solutio
ns. These applications are demonstrated using simulated and real image
s.