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Saturday, December 21, 2013

Beauty isn't in the eye of the beholder.

For men & women.  Human beings are pattern recognition/generation machines.  The eye recognizes symmetry, proportion & beauty across cultures & across history.

"Why do we want men to have broad shoulders? Why is it attractive for women to have narrow waists and healthy hips? The answers to those questions, as I’ve discussed on the blog, are grounded in HARD SCIENCE. To summarize, we view certain physical traits as desirable in members of each sex: an X-shaped physique for men implies virility and strength; an hourglass shaped body on a woman, on the other hand, implies fertility and good mothering. We view what is attractive partially through the eyes of people looking for mates—we view these bodies as “sexy“—because of scientifically proven NUMBERS...
You see, our brains are programmed to look for symmetry and balance everywhere; programmed to be attracted to it and to try to create it. And so in part, what we consider a good body is really based on what we view as a body that projects certain characteristics that imply bodily symmetry…which is based on numbers like “The Golden Ratio.” The Golden Ratio is number that shows up all over the human body, from the length of the arms and legs compared to the torso, and it seems to define what proportions look best; that is, most attractive. In fact, artists and sculptors have known about the golden ratio for a long time and have used it to create sculptures and artwork of the ideal human figure. Even plastic surgeons and dental surgeons use it to restructure the human face. It’s a really interesting bit of science and evolutionary psychology that makes you think."


"To that end, an X-shaped physique means broad shoulders, a narrow waist and strong, well-developed calves. For broad shoulders, focus on core movements that allow for maximal recruitment, such as the push press and some isolation exercises to focus on the medial delts and increases in width, such as lateral raises. A narrow waist is primarily the result of a low level of body fat, obviously. However, it is important to understand that the muscles around your waist respond to weight training in much the same way that all other muscles do: by growing. So while it isn’t necessary to avoid certain exercises completely, train with the caveat that you should avoid rotational exercises with either a heavy weight or high volume. The goal, overall, is to develop a waist-to-shoulder ratio of about 1.618 -- the Golden Ratio."

"To build the perfect body, it helps to have the right dimensions. Thankfully, the magic formula for those dimensions has been known for centuries. It's called the golden ratio—a dividend of two measurements that's roughly equal to 1.618. Its influence can be seen in the shape of a seashell, the spirals of a pinecone, and the Parthenon in Athens. And in blueprints for the archetypal human form: Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man and Michelangelo's David."

"Although most were initially drawn to the woman's cleavage, her hips and waist were key to attraction. A waist-to-hip ratio of 0.7 - or a waist measurement exactly 70 per cent of the hip circumference - scored the highest marks. Examples include some of the world's most beautiful women. Marilyn Monroe, modern-day starlet Jessica Alba and Victoria's Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio all possess the perfect figure. As does Kate Moss, despite her apparent lack of curves. And the attractiveness of the hourglass figure holds true across countries and cultures, research shows."


"“Beauty is in the phi of the beholder.” It has long been said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and thought that beauty varies by race, culture or era.  The evidence, however, shows that our perception of physical beauty is hard wired into our being and based on how closely one’s features reflect phi in their proportions.  Take another look at beauty through the eyes of medical science. A template for human beauty is found in phi and the pentagon Dr. Stephen Marquardt has studied human beauty for years in his practice of oral and maxillofacial surgery.   Dr. Marquardt performed cross-cultural surveys on beauty and found that all groups had the same perceptions of facial beauty.  

He also analyzed the human face from ancient times to the modern day.  Through his research, he discovered that beauty is not only related to phi, but can be defined for both genders and for all races, cultures and eras with the beauty mask which he developed and patented.  This mask uses the pentagon and decagon as its foundation, which embody phi in all their dimensions.  For more information and other examples, see his site at Marquardt Beauty Analysis."

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