Sunday, June 10, 2007

Beauty Measured by Lines

Research claims to have shown that beauty is primarily a matter of balance and proper placement of facial elements based on the Golden Rule that nature follows. This was presented quite succinctly by the ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras. He showed how the forms that people found beautiful were those that followed the Golden Ratio.

But what exactly is this golden measurement? Well, it is basically the proportional relationship in which the ratio between the whole and one of its parts is the same as the ratio between its two parts. Still don't get it? Just think of patterns that make up a whole and you will have a visual grasp of the idea. Think of the geometry of a sunflower or a snail's shell.

Shown is a picture of Marylin Monroe overlaid with a mask of lines which show how it fits the Golden Rule. According to the Marquardt Beauty Analysis, this is an exact method of measuring how beautiful a face is. Looking at it, I wonder if Superman's nemesis, Bizarro (left) would pass the test. He already has ready-made lines on his face.

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