WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: Why Do We Find Symmetry So Pleasing?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey brain Stuff. I'm Lauren Vogelbaum, and today's episode is

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<v Speaker 1>another classic from our archives. In this one, we delve

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<v Speaker 1>into the psychology and biology behind the human appreciation for symmetry.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum. Here, think of a pair

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<v Speaker 1>of synchronized divers, or the wings on a butterfly, or

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<v Speaker 1>the vaulted ceiling of a cathedral. These are some of

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<v Speaker 1>the things that most people find visually very pleasing. But why.

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<v Speaker 1>The answer has to do with symmetry. Most objects in

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<v Speaker 1>the real world are symmetrical. This is particularly true of nature,

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<v Speaker 1>the radial symmetry of a starfish or flower petals, the

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<v Speaker 1>symmetrical efficiency of a hexagonal honeycomb, or the uniquely symmetrical

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<v Speaker 1>crystal patterns of a snowflake. In fact, asymmetry is often

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<v Speaker 1>a sign of illness or danger in the natural world,

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<v Speaker 1>and of course, human beings are symmetrical, at least mostly

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<v Speaker 1>and on the outside. You know, some internal organs like

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<v Speaker 1>the heart and liver are off center. Decades of research

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<v Speaker 1>into sexual attraction have proven that both men and women

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<v Speaker 1>find symmetrical faces sexier than asymmetrical ones. The leading explanation

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<v Speaker 1>is that physical symmetry is an outward sign of good health,

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<v Speaker 1>although large scale studies have shown no significant health differences

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<v Speaker 1>in people with symmetrical or asymmetrical faces. Since severe physical

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<v Speaker 1>asymmetries are strong indicators of genetic disorders, our brains might

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<v Speaker 1>just be overreacting. The simple explanation for our attraction to

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<v Speaker 1>symmetry is that it's familiar. Symmetrical objects and images play

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<v Speaker 1>by the rules that our brains are programmed to recognize easily.

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<v Speaker 1>Physicist Alan Lightman wrote about this in his book The

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<v Speaker 1>Accidental Universe The World You Thought You Knew. He wrote,

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<v Speaker 1>I would claim that symmetry represents order, and we crave

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<v Speaker 1>order in this strange universe. We find ourselves in the

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<v Speaker 1>search for symmetry, and the emotional pleasure we derive when

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<v Speaker 1>we find it must help us make sense of the

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<v Speaker 1>world around us, just as we find satisfaction in the

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<v Speaker 1>repetition of the sea and in the reliability of friendships.

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<v Speaker 1>Symmetry is also economy. Symmetry is simplicity, Symmetry is elegance.

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<v Speaker 1>At the esoteric end of the explanation, spectrum, Lightment is

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<v Speaker 1>saying that the satisfaction we feel at seeing a creatively

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<v Speaker 1>symmetrical work of art or a perfectly stacked display of

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<v Speaker 1>soup cans in the grocery store. Is that the stuff

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<v Speaker 1>of our brains is inseparable from the stuff of nature.

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<v Speaker 1>The neurons and synapses in our brains and the processes

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<v Speaker 1>by which they communicate, connect, and conjure thoughts evolved in

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<v Speaker 1>parallel to snowflakes and starfish. If nature is symmetrical, then

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<v Speaker 1>so are our minds. On the more basic end, the

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<v Speaker 1>pleasure we get from symmetry could simply be due to

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<v Speaker 1>our minds need to find patterns and attempt to make

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<v Speaker 1>sense of things, especially quickly and with a limited data

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<v Speaker 1>set considered Gistalt psychology, named after an influential school of

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<v Speaker 1>visual perception born in Germany in the nineteen twenties. The

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<v Speaker 1>famous and famously mistranslated Gistalt motto is the whole is

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<v Speaker 1>other than the sum of its parts, not the whole

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<v Speaker 1>is greater than the some of its parts. Our brain

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<v Speaker 1>is more than a calculator adding up the details of

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<v Speaker 1>a scene. It's primed to recognize signs of order in

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<v Speaker 1>the accidental chaos, and to follow certain rules or shortcuts

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<v Speaker 1>to make sense of the world. Symmetry is one of

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<v Speaker 1>those shortcuts. We spoke with Mary Peterson, a psychology professor

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<v Speaker 1>and director of the Visual Perception Laboratory at the University

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<v Speaker 1>of Arizona. As she says, the brain doesn't like things

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<v Speaker 1>that are accidental. We either learn or born with certain

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<v Speaker 1>priors or shortcuts that help our brains quickly determined that

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<v Speaker 1>we're looking at one particular object or another. We also

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<v Speaker 1>spoke with Johann vaching Launch, an experimental psychologist from Belgium

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<v Speaker 1>who specializes in visual perception and how our brains organized

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<v Speaker 1>the constant incoming flow of information. He agrees at symmetry

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<v Speaker 1>is not just a design principle of the outside world.

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<v Speaker 1>He said, you can also see symmetry as one of

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<v Speaker 1>these major principles driving the self organization of the brain.

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<v Speaker 1>All these tendencies toward good organization and simple organization are

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<v Speaker 1>also principles of symmetry in the dynamics of the brain itself.

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<v Speaker 1>But on the other hand, too much symmetry can be

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<v Speaker 1>a tad boring. While perfectly symmetrical designs are more pleasing

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<v Speaker 1>to the brain, they're not necessarily more beautiful. Both art

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<v Speaker 1>novices and experts prefer art that strikes, says vocumons an

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<v Speaker 1>optimal level of stimulation, not too complex, not too simple,

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<v Speaker 1>not too chaotic, and not too orderly. Indeed, the Japanese

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<v Speaker 1>have an esthetic principle called Kinsey, which is all about

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<v Speaker 1>creating balance in a composition using asymmetry or irregularity. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>episode was written by Dave Ruse and produced by Tristan

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<v Speaker 1>McNeil and Tyler Clang. For more on this and lots

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<v Speaker 1>of other symmetrical topics because of how stuff works dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Brain Stuff is a production of our Heart Radio. For

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