On 17/02/14 02:56 AM, Annie Abrahams wrote: > The first one is probably as much a cultural phenomenon as the second > and not something intrinsically "true"
I'd bet that the art under consideration is renaissance art, which has a strong mathematical underpinning. And neuroaesthetics tends to be a bit phrenological. Complex neurological and sociological phenomena don't reduce to single nerve clusters. But for the art (certainly a cultural phenomenon) and mathematics (not touching that one ;-) ) under consideration the effect observed was similar enough to remark upon: “When one looks at a formula rated as beautiful it activates the emotional brain - the medial orbito-frontal cortex - like looking at a great painting or listening to a piece of music,” said Professor Semir Zeki. Possibly this is simply *satisfaction*, or maybe it's something more interesting to do with how the brain manages and rewards pattern integration. Anyway I found it interesting following the recent discussion about art and code and their reception. If we can find art that gives a different result, that would also be interesting. - Rob. _______________________________________________ NetBehaviour mailing list [email protected] http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour
