Theories of beauty

The earliest theory of beauty can be found in the works of early Greek philosophers from the pre-Socratic period, like Pythagoras. The extant writings attributed to Pythagoras reveal that the Pythagorean school, if not Pythagoras himself, saw a strong connection between mathematics and beauty. In particular, they noted that objects proportioned according to the golden ratio seemed more attractive. Some modern research seems to confirm this, in that people whose facial features are symmetric and proportioned according the golden ratio are consistently ranked as more attractive than those whose faces are not.

Different cultures have deified beauty, typically in female forms. Here is a list of the goddesses of beauty in different mythologies.

• Aphrodite - Greek mythology

• Lakshmi - Hindu mythology

• Venus - Roman mythology

Even mathematical formulae can be considered beautiful. eiπ + 1 = 0 is commonly considered one of the most beautiful theorems in mathematics. Another connection between mathematics and beauty which played a prominent role in Pythagoras' philosophy was the way in which musical tones can be arranged in mathematical sequences, which repeat at regular intervals called octaves. Beauty contests claim to be able to judge beauty. The millihelen is sometimes jokingly defined as the scientific unit of human beauty. This derives from the legend of Helen of Troy as presented in Christopher Marlowe's The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, in which her beauty was said to have launched a thousand ships. The millihelen is therefore the degree of beauty that can launch one ship.

3. Read and translate the text: Body modification

Body modification (or body alteration) is the permanent or semi-permanent deliberate altering of the human body for non-medical reasons, such as spiritual or aesthetic. It can range from the socially acceptable decoration (e.g., pierced ears on women in many societies) to the rebellious (e.g., nostril piercings in punk subculture). Opponents of these practices call them disfigurement or mutilation.

Nearly every human society practices or has practiced some type of body modification in its broadest definition, from Maori tattoos to Victorian corsets to modern breast implants. One controversial form of body modification is the attempt to resemble another race, such as Asians having their epicanthic folds modified to resemble Caucasian eyes or skin lightened with dyes, or African-Americans straightening their hair or getting a nose job.

"Disfigurement" and "mutilation" are terms used by opponents of body modification to describe certain types of modifications, especially non-consensual ones. Those terms are used fairly uncontroversially to describe the victims of torture, who have endured damage to ears, eyes, feet, genitalia, hands, noses, teeth, and/or tongues, including amputation, burning, flagellation, piercing, skinning, and wheeling.

Body art is body modification for artistic reasons. Some futurists believe that eventually humans will pursue body modification for technological reasons, with permanently implanted devices to enhance mental and physical capabilities, thereby becoming cyborgs. For the substantial number of people with heart pacemakers and brain implants such as cochlear implants and electrical brain stimulators for Parkinson's disease, this is already a reality.

Some types of body modification

• body piercing

• tattooing

• branding and other scarification

• "extreme" surgical body modification

• bodybuilding

• corsetry,

• tightlacing,

• foot binding and etc.