Week 10 [Project Development Notes] - Why do we like symmetry?

Reading 1: http://motivatedmastery.com/science-of-symmetry/

In an essay called The Symmetrical Universe, Alan Lightman, American physicist, writer, and author of The Accidental Universe: The World You Thought You Knew, explores why we as humans are drawn to symmetry, and more importantly, how we can understand this pattern in our lives by first studying nature.
Lightman begins with a theory of why there is so much symmetry in the natural world: 
"Symmetry leads to economy, and nature, like human beings, seem to prefer economy. If we think of nature as a vast ongoing experiment, constantly trying out different possibilities of design, then those designs that cost the least energy or that require the fewest different parts to come together at the right time will take precedence, just as the principle of natural selection says that organisms with the best ability to survive will dominate over time."

Connecting the complexities and similarities of the natural world and human nature can be difficult to grasp, but a useful starting point is in understanding the impact it has on our minds as humans.
Lightman expounds:
"Why do we, human beings, delight in seeing perfectly round planets through the lens of a telescope and six-sided snowflakes on a cold winter day? The answer must be partly psychological. I would claim that symmetry represents order, and we crave order in this strange universe we find ourselves in. The search for symmetry, and the emotional pleasure we derive when we find it, must help us make sense of the world around us, just as we find satisfaction in the repetition of the seasons and the reliability of friendships. Symmetry is also economy. Symmetry is simplicity. Symmetry is elegance."

_______________________________


Reading 2:
Beyond beauty: Design symmetry and brand personality by A. Bajaj and S.D. Bond, pp. 108-120
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=wTE-CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA107&lpg=PA107&dq=beyond+beauty+design+symmetry+and+brand+personality&source=bl&ots=Y2Of9HJmUP&sig=sm0GOOzgu17FKwppfE04jvPCDvE&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjjjfi4orzQAhWHCcAKHQR6CW0Q6AEIHTAB#v=onepage&q=beyond%20beauty%20design%20symmetry%20and%20brand%20personality&f=false

The perception of symmetry is a fundamental and ever-present component of visual processing. Prior research has established that perceivers are able to detect symmetry with little or no effort, across a vast range of stimuli and viewing conditions. (Barlow & Reeves, 1979; Julesz, 1971) 
p. 108

As a topic of inquiry, the notion of symmetry has fascinated artists and philosophers since the ancient Greeks. Within academic research, symmetry has been studied not only by scholars in aesthetics and psychology but in such diverse areas as mathematics, biology, history, religion, and culture.
p. 108

Definition: 
Symmetry is defined as self-similarity under a class of transformations such as reflections, rotations, and translations (Wagemans, 1997). 
p. 108

In the present research, we restrict our focus to mirror symmetry, or bilateral symmetry, which has been studied extensively in art and is considered the most rapidly detected form of symmetry (Mach, 1893/1896; Palmer & Hemenway, 1978; Rock & Leaman, 1963; Royer, 1981).
p. 108

It is important to note that symmetry is distinct from the more abstract concept of balance, which captures the extent to which offsetting figural elements have equal subjective visual weight. For example, a prominent face may be balanced by a distant horizon on the other side of the composition (Arnheim, 1974).
p. 108

Related Research:
Evolutionary psychologists claim that symmetry is a reliable indicator of the genetic quality of potential mates, and thus preference for symmetry can be explained as a consequence of selective adaptation (Thornhill & Gangestad, 1993). However, symmetric patterns are preferred even in situations serving no biologically relevant function, and this is true for both human and animal perceivers (e.g. Humphrey, 1997; Rensch, 1957).
p. 109

Symmetric stimuli have less informational content then asymmetric stimuli due to the redundancy in their features. i.e. one half looks exactly like the other half, so it is redundant in terms of its information content. This redundancy allows greater ease in processing of symmetric stimuli, giving rise to a subjective sense of fluency and a positive aesthetic experience on the part of perceivers (Reber et al., 2004). 
p. 109

Symmetry and Arousal
Consistent with the notion that asymmetric stimuli evoke elevated arousal in perceiver, symmetric stimuli should be expected to evoke low arousal or calmness. Writing dating to classical times have recognised that symmetry represents harmony, calmness and stability. Infact, Roman architect, Vitruvius defined symmetry as "the appropriate harmony arising out of the details of the work itself: the correspondence of each given detail to the form of the design as a whole" (Vitruvius, 1970).
p. 111

______________________

Reading 3:  P. Locher C. Nodine "The perceptual value of symmetry" in Computers & Mathematics with Applications, Volume 17, Issues 4–6, 1989, Pages 475-484

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0898122189902460