JanineAsymmetry = fashion disaster
July 8th 2008 11:10
Human League and Phil Oakey's hair (photo: BBC)
For years we've been told that symmetry hooks into something deep in our brains and we find things that are symmetrical beautiful - ie that person you think is hot is likely to have one side of their face pretty close to being a mirror image of the other. And from an evolutionary point of view, that means they're a good genetic bet as they're more likely to be free of disease (did you know that diseased mothers in animal studies give birth to more asymmetrical offspring? So Wikipedia tells me).
Well, it turns out that the lop-sided haircuts that were so popular in the 80s (think Flock of Seagulls et al, but I saw one on Collins Street today so they've not disappeared) are a direct challenge to this evolutionary legacy - and Prof Marcus du Sautoy, of Oxford University says explains why we don't think they're fashionable. Our brain tells us there's something wrong.
But my favourite line? "As a student in the 80s, I was never attracted to the music of the likes of Flock of Seagulls or Human League. Now I know why."
Gotta love mathematicians, don't you?
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