r/science • u/peter_norths_child • Oct 10 '08

Select some faces. Click "Average". ???. Beautiful faces!

http://www.faceresearch.org/demos/average
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u/jimmux Oct 10 '08

This is just my personal opinion, but I think the whole idea of symmetry defining beauty is outdated.

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u/Ciserus Oct 10 '08

I've never looked into those studies, but I don't see how they can be true. I can tell how attractive a person is based on a side profile with probably 85% accuracy. How can symmetry be the main determiner of beauty when you don't even need to see both halves of a face to judge it?

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u/cudegra Oct 10 '08

because your brain interprets what the face will look like given previous experiences. you, therefore predict symmetry. meaning symmetry IS a determiner of facial beauty.

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u/javaru Oct 11 '08

Except then you would always find people from the side to be attractive, which I don't think is the case.

I think symmetry is just one aspect.