February 21, 2013
Yes, You Can Be Too Beautiful Of course, we know individual tastes can be more generous, and more idiosyncratic, than any ratio or formula—as Francis Bacon said, “There is no exquisite beauty without some strangeness in the proportion.” Yet a number of common aesthetic preferences probably developed for a reason. Evolutionary biologists argue that we favor certain proportions and symmetries because they suggest a lower likelihood of genetic abnormalities—and so, a more viable mate. Still, when it comes to surviving modern life, an array of studies suggest that physical perfection isn’t always so ideal. Read more. [Image: Mark Weaver]

Yes, You Can Be Too Beautiful

Of course, we know individual tastes can be more generous, and more idiosyncratic, than any ratio or formula—as Francis Bacon said, “There is no exquisite beauty without some strangeness in the proportion.” Yet a number of common aesthetic preferences probably developed for a reason. Evolutionary biologists argue that we favor certain proportions and symmetries because they suggest a lower likelihood of genetic abnormalities—and so, a more viable mate. Still, when it comes to surviving modern life, an array of studies suggest that physical perfection isn’t always so ideal.

Read more. [Image: Mark Weaver]

1:35pm
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