Blog 101: Why, Oh Why?

Why have I just spent an hour of my life being told about symmetry and how many lines of symmetry a square has? Why have I just spent loads of money on something my 15 year old sister could have taught me, for free, three years ago?

My lecture today was, surprise surprise, a waste of time. For a good ten minutes early this afternoon, I was watching a bewildering and confused museum curator (who my friend Robyn says looks like the Weetos man) count how many lines there were on an octagonal window.

One, two, three, four, five, si...oh no wait a minute I missed one...one, two, three, four, FIVE, six, seven, eight, nine...

At one stage he said "I told this to two other people and they both completely got it. One was-"

Five.

"-and the other was - "

Seven.

No wait. One was the winner of the Nobel PHYSICS prize, and apparently he understood symmetry straight away. He must be a clever chap if he can understand symmetry. I mean, when I heard he'd won the Nobel Prize for Physics I had my doubts about his intellect and potential to do great things, but if he knows that a rectangle has 2 lines of symmetry then he must be incredible.

The other one was Henry Moore.

As in Henry Moore who's name is usually followed up by about 8 letters for various achievements? Henry Moore the famous sculptor and artist? Well, the lecturer didn't say, but looking at Henry Moore's work now on google, I can't say symmetry is something that seems to have a profound effect.

"It's not a new thing, symmetry. Think about all the designs in the world! Do you think cars are symmetrical for no reason? It's because we as humans are symmetrical (which we're not really) and so we like things to look symmetrical."

Tell you what, get a car, take one of the front wheels off and try driving up the M1. You will go round in circles for about thirty seconds and then you will die. That is what will happen. For this reason, cars are symmetrical.

"Look at this church, it's layout is symmetrical, because we like the look of it."

Probably isn't, actually. Most of the time one of the parts is longer than another. Moreover, ever noticed that churches are crossed shaped? Not because of symmetry, but because Jesus died on a cross. That is why Christians, who are named after Jesus Christ, have buildings which look like a Cross, on which Jesus Christ died.

He was right when he said a lot of insects and fish are symmetrical. Yes, they are. But it's not because they're trying to look hot or impress a girl, it's because they work better when they are shaped like that. And more to the point, who the hell even cares.

Why do things like this happen to me?