Skip to main content

Symmetry

 


One of the things that scientists concern themselves with is symmetry. Symmetry is found in nature, in biology, in chemistry, in physics, and in art. Symmetrical things seem pleasing to the human mind. They strike a chord with us.

Scientists (ever the categorizers) are not just content with noting that something is symmetrical, but how is it symmetrical. What type of symmetry does it have? They also include more esoteric concepts of symmetry that have nothing to do with physical shape. We say that human bodies are symmetrical. And if we are symmetrical, that must make it a good thing right?  

If something is symmetrical, you can slice it in two right down the middle and each half will be the mirror image of the other. The specific type of symmetry that humans have is called bilateral symmetry. This means you can only slice us in two along one specific plane to get that mirror image. Slice us any other place, divide us any other way, and it will not work. So, humans are bilaterally symmetrical as are almost all vertebrates. One hand or wing or fin matched on either side seems like a good plan. It has functional as well as aesthetic value. The two halves do not have to be exact mirror copies. You can have a mole or a bump on one side that is not reflected on the other; it is still close enough to call it bilaterally symmetrical.

A starfish can be bisected by multiple lines or planes that would produce mirror images, not just the one of bilateral symmetry, but ten. A sphere can be divided by an infinite number of planes.

Molecules can have symmetry, and that can determine how they arrange themselves with other molecules to make crystals or biological workhorses.

We are drawn to symmetry. Our brains seem to be wired for symmetry. We like our cars, our tables, our gardens, and our pets to be symmetrical (maybe that’s why goldfish are more popular than flounders, and almost nobody has a pet slime mold).

The world and the universe seem to give preference to symmetrical forms, from the macro to the micro. Why? Is there some physical law that favors symmetry? Some offshoot of the four forces. Or maybe there is an unknown fifth force: the force of symmetry! Perhaps if we ever define a true grand unified field theory, we will know. Until then I guess we can just appreciate it. We seem destined to.

Star Liner

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Trip Home

  My wife and I recently returned from a trip to New York to visit my son and his wife. What follows is an excerpt of my notes from that trip. Departure day. So we and the kids (adult kids) leave by 5:30 AM. These “kids” are night owls. They rarely wake before 10:00 if they don’t have to, so we appreciate the sacrifice. Daughter-in-Law (DIL) drove us the 30 minutes to the train station. Hugs and good-byes for her (we love DIL. DIL is an irresistible force). Son navigates us a route to the platform with fewer stairs than the way we came. We get a ticket and get on the train headed for the big city and Grand Central Station. I soon realize that this train is not an express train like the one we took coming out. Instead of taking a little over an hour like we did before, this one would take a little over an hour and a half. We stop at places with names like Cold Springs and Peekskill (on this trip we saw a lot of place names that ended in “kill” including Kaatskill, i.e. Catskill, and
2 comments
Read more

That 70's Decade

  Can a decade become a caricature? My teen years were in the 1970’s and none of us who lived through the 70’s thought our decade was going to be a figure of fun. When you are a part of it, you don’t realize what people are going to make fun of later. I think there are two reasons why people snicker when the 70’s are mentioned: clothing styles and Disco. Both things could be called extensions of trends that started in the 60’s. When the hippy styles of the 60’s became more formalized for the dance floor, the result was (in hindsight) rather bizarre. They did not seem bizarre at the time. People following present fashion trends never understand that they are wearing something that will be laughed at in ten years. Yes, I did have a pair of bell-bottom blue jeans (are they making a comeback?) The mere mention of the 1970’s conjures up someone in a ridiculous pose wearing a disco suit. We who lived through the 70’s just went about our normal life. There were quite a lot of things that ha
Post a Comment
Read more

Tyranny of the Masses

  I was listening to Benjamin Netanyahu on the radio. He was justifying his change in the law that removed power from the Israeli Supreme Court, saying that it was the will of the people. Majority rules. This made me think of “Tyranny of the masses,” a concept that notes: just because a majority of people are for something, that doesn’t make it right. I am sure you can think of historical examples where the people of a country supported a policy that was demonstrably wrong. When everything is completely governed by majority rule, the rights of the minority can be subverted by the majority. The framers of our American Constitution knew this, and tried to put in some checks and balances into our system of government. This was to guard against all forms of tyranny whether from a dictator, or from tyranny of the masses. One of those checks is that we have a representative government. The people themselves don’t pass laws, but instead elect representatives at the federal and local level t
Post a Comment
Read more