Mathematics: Why the brain sees maths as beauty
Brain scans show a complex string of
numbers and letters in mathematical formulae can evoke the same sense of beauty
as artistic masterpieces and music from the greatest composers.
Mathematicians were shown "ugly" and "beautiful" equations while in a brain
scanner at University College London.The same emotional brain centres used to appreciate art were being activated by "beautiful" maths.
The researchers suggest there may be a neurobiological basis to beauty.
The likes of Euler's identity or the Pythagorean identity are rarely mentioned in the same breath as the best of Mozart, Shakespeare and Van Gogh.
The study in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience gave 15 mathematicians 60 formula to rate.
One of the researchers, Prof Semir Zeki, told the BBC: "A large number of areas of the brain are involved when viewing equations, but 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."
The more beautiful they rated the formula, the greater the surge in activity detected during the fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) scans.
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