Phunny Phobias
If you met someone who was afraid of paper or wax statues, wouldn't you tell them to stop being so ridiculous and get over it? Every Monday, Null editor Hayley hand-picks another bizarre phobia and tries to work out whether it's real or rubbish.
This week:
Symmetrophobia: fear of symmetry
What's so scary about it?
For a while I thought I understood this. Being someone who likes everything offset, and gets ever so slightly twitchy about things being perfectly aligned, symmetrophobia seemed a reasonable kind of condition. Then I realised this whole thing goes a lot deeper...
What do the scientists say about it?
Medics and biologists say very little, but perhaps that's because they're outdone by the computer scientists, the mathematicians and the arts boffins. It appears symmetrophobia can apply to aspects of Japanese aesthetics, mathematics and poetry. For more on the subject, you might try Jones' essay on The Hermeneutics of Sacred Architecture: A Reassessment of the Simultitude Between <insert three random names you'll never learn to spell> - or not.
Hayley says:
"Oh it exists alright. Whether anyone actually knows what it is turns out to be quite a different matter. Real."
So far: Real 3 Rubbish 3
Find phunny phobias from other weeks here.
Null's other regular features (more coming soon):
Peculiar Periodicals
The World in Brief
Image: Alessandro Paiva
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