Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but the secret of what constitutes an attractive face could actually lie in a mathematical formula originally devised by artists like Leonardo da Vinci.
Scientists at the University of Nebraska say they have developed software that can predict whether or not a face will be deemed beautiful, using a calculation that calibrates the symmetry and geometry of the face.
Amazingly, the boffins' beauty results are practically identical to a code that da Vinci and the Old Masters followed to paint perfect beauty back in the 15th century.
The Renaissance artists used six Neo-Classical criteria as a guide to defining a beautiful face, among them being that the width of the face must be four times the width of the nose. In addition, the code stipulated that the height of the forehead, length of the nose and the height of the lower face must all be of equal length.
Last week, biostatisticians confirmed that out of the six Renaissance beauty rules used in their computer programme, only one turned out to be wrong. That was the so-called 'divine proportion' or 'golden ratio' between mouth and nose width (the artists said the ratio should be 1.5, whereas the scientists found it to be 1.618).
The rules were then tested on 36 volunteers who responded strongly to those 'ideal' Renaissance traits in pictures of celebrities like Meg Ryan, Rock Hudson and Keanu Reeves. To add to the theory, a recent documentary on Kate Moss argued that her features have the golden ratio of 1.618, which could explain her phenomenal popularity as a model.
So, just how has the Renaissance formula stood the test of time? It could be because the criteria incorporate the basic psychological triggers that alert the mind to beauty -- and ultimately to sexual reproduction.
1 comment:
Kate is just so beautiful, I am really happy that she changed her life and copes it again.
Post a Comment