Is The Golden Ratio Test For Beauty Accurate

 I know I've looked at this topic before but there is more evidence that this rule is not valid.   The last time, I provided the logic used for why it worked but this time, I'm focusing on the argument for why it isn't true. As humans we always want explanations for every thing especially if we use ideas or theories we are comfortable with.

Many years ago, a cosmetic surgeon stated that Amber Heard had one of the most beautiful faces based on "The Golden Ratio Test".  The idea is that the closer the facial proportions match up to the golden ratio, the closer one is to "perfect" beauty. 

As we know, the golden ratio was discovered a very long time ago by the Pythagoreans who named it "The Divine Proportion".  The ratio is equal to 1.618. The Pythagoreans were made up of mathematicians who believed that certain numbers had mystical, philosophical, or ethical significance.  Now where the idea of beauty and the golden ratio came from, came from Greece, the Renaissance, and even more modern times.

Plato proposed that our world is an imperfect copy of the real realm of truth since we see a perfect triangle exists in truth but in our world, a perfect triangle is not created naturally.  He went on to say we can glimpse the perfection through the use of logic or by creating symmetry.  Fast forward to 1509 when a famous mathematician of the time published trilogy on the Golden Ratio complete with illustrations by Da Vinci. One point he promoted was that human bodies should match certain mathematical ratios.  

Then in the late 1800's another mathematician expanded these ideas into multiple books but in his last book, he suggested that the most beautiful and fundamental ratios must be related to the golden ratio and it can be seen in the body, nature, art, music, and architecture.  This lead to the belief that both Ancient Greek art and architecture used the golden ratio, therefore they were beautiful.  

Later on, someone actually looked at this belief.  It appears that no mention of the golden ratio appears in anything outside of math and numerology in Ancient Greece. As a matter of fact, phi is seldom seen in Ancient Greek art or architecture. In fact, the Parthenon was voted the most beautiful building in Athens in 2014 because it had phi as part of it's ratio but in reality, phi does not show up there.

In 2002, a cosmetic surgeon claimed the golden ratio can be used to determine the most beautiful people because the ideal face would have a mouth that was phi wider than the most.  The surgeon then created a mask to show visually, the application of the golden ratio for cosmetic surgeons and orthodontists. In addition, he claimed the mask could be used to find perfect beauty and it lead to "The Golden Ratio Test."

He measured the faces of actors and models to provide data to support his theories. Since the test became so popular, it lead to others using the test to define beauty and others who developed apps so everyone could easily see how they matched the definition of perfect beauty.  Fortunately, someone actually looked at his data and calculations to determine the test's accuracy.  His limited data did not include people of sub Saharan, East Asian, or South Indians but focused on those from Europe who were models. Even then, a look his calculations indicated that the correlations between the ratios of the faces he used and the golden ratio itself was statistically insignificant. 

So there you are, where the test came from and it's validity.  I will get back to normal on Monday once I'm where I'm headed and had a chance to catch up on the huge time change.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great week.