Entropy and Beauty

Article type: Short Communication

Authors: Maruyama, Magoroh

Affiliations: School of International Politics, Economics and Business, Shibuya 4-4-25, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150, Japan

Abstract: There are cultural and individual differences in aesthetic preferences. Parmenides considered a sphere to be the most beautiful shape. Pythagoras formulated the concept of harmony as arithmetic proportions of sound vibration frequencies. European architects and garden designers traditionally used the principle of unity by similarity and repetition, and principles of identity, opposition, tension and extention. On the other hand, traditional Japanese garden designers and floral composition designers avoided regular geometric forms and repetition of same forms, and composed harmony among dissimilar elements. In the traditional Japanese house, rooms are convertible and connectable, indicating the opposite of identity and opposition. Can these differences be measured? Is entropy an adequate measure? Are other measures needed?

DOI: 10.3233/HSM-1992-11307

Journal: Human Systems Management, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 165-168, 1992