Does a formula of beauty exist?

The Japanese culture suggests that beauty is not only to be found in art but that it is a complex and complete sentiment that stems from deep inside us.  How is this possible?

This has actually become the subject of some scientific studies, that led to the discovery of mirror neurons and investigate the relationship between the brain, art and positive behaviors.

What actually happens when we see beauty? That’s what we are going to find out in the documentary “The Formula Of Beauty”, the third episode of “The Sense Of Beauty” series.

When we look at a work of art or listen to a piece of music that we consider beautiful, the brain “lights up” so to speak. Semir Zeki, Professor of Neuroesthetics at UCL, who pioneered the study of the higher visual areas of the brain, will explain us the neural correlates of aesthetic and artistic experience. Although the statement “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” has proved true, these significant discoveries show that from an organic point of view the area of the brain involved seems to be the same in all human beings, regardless of their cultural background.

That’s why the Golden Ratio, that defines the perfect proportions of harmony and can be found in natural elements, seems to be universally accepted as formula of beauty and appears many times in geometry, art (as shown by Leonardo, Botticelli and the contemporary artist Rafael Araujo in these wonderful drawings), architecture and other areas.

But if beauty is a common perception for human beings, are robots and artificial intelligence able to evaluate it? The episode will end with a window on the future, in an impressive laboratory located just outside Moscow….