Scientific disciplines as diverse as biology, physics, and psychological aesthetics regard symmetry as one of the most important principles in nature and one of the most powerful determinants of beauty. However, symmetry has a low standing in the arts and humanities. This difference in the valuation of symmetry is a remarkable illustration of the gap between the two cultures. To close this gap, we conducted an interdisciplinary, empirical study to directly demonstrate the effects of art expertise on symmetry appreciation. Two groups of art experts—artists and art historians—and a group of non-experts provided spontaneous beauty ratings of visual stimuli that varied in symmetry and complexity. In complete contrast to responses typically found in non-art experts, art experts found asymmetrical and simple stimuli as most beautiful. This is evidence of the effects of specific education and training on aesthetic appreciation and a direct challenge to the universality of symmetry.

中文翻译：

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对称性不是美的普遍定律

生物学，物理学和心理学美学等各种科学学科都将对称视为自然界最重要的原理之一，也是决定美的最有力因素之一。但是，对称性在艺术和人文科学中地位较低。对称性评估的这种差异很好地说明了两种文化之间的鸿沟。为了缩小这一差距，我们进行了跨学科的实证研究，以直接证明艺术专长对对称欣赏的影响。两组艺术专家（艺术家和艺术历史学家）和一组非专家提供了视觉刺激的自发美丽等级，这些视觉刺激的对称性和复杂性各不相同。与非艺术专家通常会做出的反应完全相反，艺术专家发现非对称和简单的刺激最为美丽。