Symmetry is beautiful—to insects, birds, mammals, all of the primates, and people around the world.
 |
| photo credit pixabay.com |
Female scorpionflies seek mates with uniform wings. Barn swallows like partners with well-proportioned tails. Monkeys are partial to symmetrical teeth. If you walk into a village in New Guinea and point to the most beautiful man or woman sitting around the campfire, the natives will agree with you. And when researchers used computers to blend many faces into a composite “average” face, both men and women liked the average face better than any of the individual ones.
It was more balanced. Even two-month-old infants gaze longer at more symmetrical faces.
Creatures with balanced, well-proportioned ears, eyes, teeth, and jaws, with symmetrical elbows, knees, and breasts, have been able to repel bacteria, viruses, and other minute predators that can cause bodily irregularities. By displaying symmetry, animals advertise their superior genetic ability to combat diseases.
Creatures with balanced, well-proportioned ears, eyes, teeth, and jaws, with symmetrical elbows, knees, and breasts, have been able to repel bacteria, viruses, and other minute predators that can cause bodily irregularities. By displaying symmetry, animals advertise their superior genetic ability to combat diseases.
