Ed Yong summarizes a new study that links beauty to a specific region of the brain. In response, Jonah Lehrer asks why beauty exists:
I see beauty as a form of curiosity that exists in response to sensation, and not just
information. It’s what happens when we see something and, even though we can’t explain why, want to see more.
But here’s the interesting bit: the hook of beauty, like the hook of curiosity, is a response to an incompleteness. It’s what happens when we sense something missing, when there’s a unresolved gap, when a pattern is almost there, but not quite.
I’m thinking here of that wise Leonard Cohen line: “There’s a crack in everything – that’s how the light gets in.” Well, a beautiful thing has been cracked in just the right way.
Photo of former English rugby star Ben Cohen from his own website.
The Dish 