Beauty

Is it really in the eye of the beholder?

Why do we find some things beautiful, but not others?

Is beauty innate? Is there a standard definition that we can use to say “this is beautiful and this isn’t”

Is the perception of beauty innate?

…Or do you just find things attractive because everyone else does? (do we learn it from our society?)

Is this woman hot?

Do you find this beautiful because you’re religious, because you appreciate the artistic composition and conventions used, or do you not find this beautiful?

Do your interests and opinions affect your perception of beauty?

The real “Earthrise”

Dec 24, 1968 Bill Anders Apollo 8

Do you find winter beautiful?

So is there anything that is generally agreed upon?

Beauty; a quality or combination of qualities that evoke in the perceiver the “beauty response”.

The stronger or more intense the response, the more beautiful something is considered to be.

The more beauty qualities an entity possesses, the more beautiful it is considered.

Beauty is a mechanism to ensure that humans recognize and are attracted to one another.

We’re a very VISUAL species, so we need some initial “attractor” or “attention-getter”.

(we don’t sniff butts as a greeting…usually)

Facial Beauty: the first thing we look at or notice in others. The result of four qualities

1.Color; most cultures prefer shades of brown

2.Texture; smooth…altered by cosmetic makeup

3.Size; 1/7-1/8 the size of the body

4.Shape; altered by accessories, hairstyle and length, etc

Beauty is a way to advertise good genes

But how do we decide which genes are

“Good”?

Giving Beauty a Number:

Superstitious/Mystical beliefs

13- “unlucky”; various cultures and religions

3- trinity, etc.; bad things come in threes

666- Revelation “number of the beast”

7- “lucky”

Fibonacci Numbers; The Fibonacci Sequence

011235813213455

Searching for Order in the Universe

The Golden Ratio:

1:1.618

(one to phi)

Golden Rectangle

1: (one-to-phi), that is, or approximately 1:1.618

The Parthenon: Athens, Greece

Made up of “Golden Rectangles”

Golden Ratio in the Human Body:

Our fingers have three sections. The proportion of the first two to the full length of the finger gives the golden ratio (with the exception of the thumbs). You can also see that the proportion of the middle finger to the little finger is also a golden ratio. You have two hands, and the fingers on them consist of three sections. There are five fingers on each hand, and only eight of these are articulated according to the golden number: 2, 3, 5, and 8 fit the Fibonacci numbers.

The first example of the golden ratio in the average human body is that when the distance between the navel and the foot is taken as 1 unit, the height of a human being is equivalent to 1.618.

Some other golden proportions in the average human body are:The distance between the finger tip and the elbow / distance between the wrist and the elbow,The distance between the shoulder line and the top of the head / head length,The distance between the navel and the top of the head / the distance between the shoulder line and the top of the head,The distance between the navel and knee / distance between the knee and the end of the foot.

For example, the total width of the two front teeth in the upper jaw over their height gives a golden ratio. The width of the first tooth from the centre to the second tooth also yields a golden ratio. These are the ideal proportions that a dentist may consider.

Some other golden ratios in the human face are:Length of face / width of face,Distance between the lips and where the eyebrows meet / length of nose,Length of face / distance between tip of jaw and where the eyebrows meet,Length of mouth / width of nose,Width of nose / distance between nostrils,Distance between pupils / distance between eyebrows.

Marquardt’s Mask

Refuting the mask

The mask is revised to account for ethnicity

Variations of mask

Would you be less attracted to someone if you learned it was just mathematical measurements that attract you?

http://www.intmath.com/Numbers/mathOfBeauty.php

Faces throughout the ages:

A.Baby Face

• Major visual attractiveness

• Evoke the nurturing instinct

• Adults are attracted to babies in a nurturing and protective way

• Lasts from approx one month to two years of age

Qualities:•Big eyes in proportion to face•Round face•Plump cheeks•Large head in proportion to face•Short, flat eyebrows•Small, turned-up nose

B. Child Face•Less attractive as an object of nurturing•Less attractive than either adult or baby face•Encourages independence and learning (less dependence on adult)

Qualities:•Teeth missing/spaced•Freckles/acne•Flat eyebrows; full•Ears appear oversize•Nose short and wide•Flatter, less-defined cheeks•More “baby fat” throughout the face; less distinctive features

C. Young Adult Face•Age 14-24•“Attractive peak”•The mask is essentially the face of the post-pubescent and young adult•Window of maximum correlation with mask

D. Aging Adult Face

Beyond 24 years, the face gradually matches the mask less and less.

Physiological changes:•Collagen in face becomes less elastic•Facial fat is lost•Facial soft tissues atrophy•Facial bones become more prominent

Visual changes:•Cheeks sag inferiorly; “jowls”•Corners of mouth move inferiorly; slight frown•Tissue around eyes sag inferiorly•Eyelids sag inferiorly•Tissue of forehead sags creating wrinkles•Nose may elongate and move tip inferiorly•Nose may develop a dorsal hump•Nose tip may enlarge and become bulbous•Generalized wrinkling may occur

Face Variations by Gender

Characteristics of Beautiful Faces

•Women are generally the more visually attractive gender•Female faces correlate with mask better than male•All human faces begin as feminine•Pre-pubescent males can be mistaken for females•Testosterone blast at puberty masculizes the male face

Biological basis for face gender-variations:•Female attractiveness is for mate attraction

•Face must show health, youth, vigor, absence of disease (good genes to produce best offspring)

•Males choose mate

•Female strategy is to entice the mate of her choice (“bedroom eyes” to mimic pre-orgasm eyelids)

•Beautiful females are attractive to all humans

•Males must also advertise health, but not necessarily by physical attractiveness (males are not considered attractive by other males).

Very attractive people often lack seductive skills…WHY?

Why are people looking at you?