FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Department of Industrial Development, IT and Land Management Examining the New Kind of Beauty Using the Human Being as a Measuring Instrument Jou-Hsuan Wu 2015-04-15 Student thesis, Master degree (one year), 15 HE Geomatics Master Programme in Geometics Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Bin Jiang Examiner: Dr. Anders Brandt Co-examiner: Mr. Ding Ma Abstract A map combines scientific facts with aesthetic perceptions. This study argues that scaling is universal in mapping reality and evoking a sense of beauty. Scaling laws are used to reveal the underlying structures and dynamics of spatial features. Complex systems, such as living cities involve various interacting entities at all scales. Each individual coherently interacts and overlaps with others to create an unbreakable entity. Scaling structures are also known as fractals. Fractal geometry is used to depict a complex system. Natural objects, such as trees, contain a similar geometry (branches) at all scales. This study attempts to effectively visualize the scaling pattern of geographic space. In this regard, the head/tail breaks classification is applied to visualize the scaling pattern of spatial features. A scaling pattern underlies a geographic space. Visualizing the scaling structure using the head/tail breaks classification can further evoke a sense of beauty. This kind of beauty is on the structural level and was identified by Christopher Alexander, who asserted that beauty is not a personal experience but objectively exists in any space. Alexander developed the theory of centers to broaden the concepts of life and beauty. A structure with a scaling property (with recursive centers) has high quality of life, and a scaling pattern has positive effects on individual’s psychological and physical well-being. To verify the concept of objective beauty, human beings are used as measuring instruments to examine the assumptions. This study adopts the mirror-of-the-self test to examine human reactions to 23 pairs of images, including photographs of buildings and two types of map. The idea is that participants sense the quality of life by comparing a pair of objects and selecting the object that presents a better picture of themselves. Once individuals feel the self in a picture, they are able to detect real beauty. In this manner, individuals can detect real beauty and life that deeply connect to their inner hearts. The tests were conducted through personal interviews and Internet surveys with the public and with professionals, and 392 samples were collected. The study results show that more than 60% of the individuals selected images with a scaling pattern. These results are in accordance with Alexander’s assumption. In particular, more than 65% individuals selected maps that depict scaling forms. Moreover, this study conducted a training test with a particular group of individuals, after which more than 70% of individuals selected scaling maps. The results reveal that scaling laws are applicable for creating maps and evoking a sense of beauty. Keywords: Cartography, scaling, head/tail breaks, the theory of centers, fractals, and the mirror-of-the-self test i Acknowledgment This thesis not only represents my work, it is an outcome of the support of many individuals. I express my deepest gratitude to certain respected individuals with respect to the work that went into this thesis. This thesis could not have been successfully completed without the support of my professor, the interviewees, examiners, my friends, and my family. I received useful guidelines and advice from my supervisor, Dr. Bin Jiang, the University of Gävle. He was caring, patient, and willing to share his research experience with me. His wisdom and knowledge constantly inspired and motivated me. Through his guidance, I was able to develop the thesis in a step-by-step manner. Instead of teaching the techniques, he helped me think logically and taught me how to think and plan the research. I followed his advice and managed the entire structure of the thesis, which I gradually finished through my own efforts. Dr. Jiang guided me when I encountered problems and gave me lots of space to figure out a solution. I appreciate that I had such an excellent supervisor who helped me mature through the research in which I engaged. I am very thankful that he guided me until the last moment. For the study, I conducted several surveys with various individuals. Most of them were strangers, and I greatly appreciate their assistance. I could not have provided reliable evidence without their participation. When I undertook the personal interviews, the interviewees were willing to share their experiences and gave me advice. I am very thankful for their kind assistance. In addition, I conducted training surveys with students from National Taipei University. These students assisted me in tracking the different responses between untrained thinking and a trained mind and supplied insightful suggestions for improving the study. All of these participants enabled the successful performance of the study. I am grateful to my research partner, Kuan-Yu Huang, who provided me with a lot of advice and selfless assistance. We discussed the research problem and solved problems together during our daily work. Without his support, I would not have been able to overcome numerous bottlenecks. I appreciate my examiner Dr. Anders Brandt and my co-examiner: Mr. Ding Ma, who gave me thoughtful advice and guidance to improve my study. Last but not least, I thank my family, particularly my parents. They have always supported and trusted me, and have given me unconditional financial and emotional support. They encourage me when I am frustrated, which gives me the courage to overcome problems. Engaging in a thesis is not easy, and I thank every person who inspired me and provided suggestions for my study. Because of their support, I was able to complete the work on my thesis. ii Table of content 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background ................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Motivation of the study .............................................................................................. 2 1.3 Aims of the study ....................................................................................................... 3 1.4 Structure of the thesis ................................................................................................. 3 2. Different views of aesthetics (literature review) ............................................................. 5 2.1 Conventional concepts of aesthetics and beauty ........................................................ 5 2.2 Fractal geometry ......................................................................................................... 5 2.2.1 Fractal structures: scaling and recursion ................................................................ 6 2.2.2 Beauty arising from fractals ................................................................................... 7 2.3 Wholeness and the theory of centers .......................................................................... 8 2.3.1 Life as a phenomenon that exists everywhere ........................................................ 8 2.3.2 Centers and wholeness leading the quality of life ................................................ 10 2.3.3 Fifteen properties deriving the quality of life ....................................................... 10 3. Theoretical foundation: scaling laws and head/tail breaks ......................................... 14 3.1 Scaling laws in dynamic geographic space .............................................................. 14 3.2 A new classification scheme: head/tail breaks ......................................................... 15 3.3 Ht-index leading a sense of beauty .......................................................................... 16 4. The mirror-of-the-self test .............................................................................................. 19 4.1 Preparation of test materials ..................................................................................... 19 4.1.1 Photographs of rugs and buildings ....................................................................... 19 4.1.2 Two different classification schemes: head/tail breaks versus natural breaks ..... 22 4.1.3 Comparison of head/tail breaks with five different classification schemes ......... 26 4.2 Survey data collection .............................................................................................. 28 5. Results and discussions ................................................................................................... 31 5.1 Descriptive statistics for the first-stage test .............................................................. 31 5.2 Test results of the scaling patterns on maps ............................................................. 32 5.3 Descriptive statistics for the second-stage test ......................................................... 35 5.4 Discussions ............................................................................................................... 37 6. Conclusions and future work ......................................................................................... 39 6.1 Conclusions .............................................................................................................