Shared Beauty



Daphnia, water flea



Hydra http://www.isi.edu/robots/self_heal_html/index.htm



Diatom Frustule http://www.astrographics.com/GalleryPrintsIndex/GP2131.html

What is beauty and what form can it take?  Is there a common experience of beauty like a common experience of an event?  Or is beauty in the eye of the beholder and we all experience beauty in different ways?  When I think of a beautiful photo that many can relate to and share common experiences I bring up images of a river stream in the Smokey Mountains, the Great Wall of China, the Grand Canyon, Niagra Falls.  These are all scenes of majestic beauty with a natural backgroud.  These are cool and all but can there be a shared beauty experience on a smaller scale?

      I enjoy finding beauty in unexpected places.  We examined a hydra in biology lab a couple of weeks ago and I was amazed by its form and structure.  We spent an hour trying get it to eat a Daphnia (water flea), which is in itself a beautiful creature.  It looks almost birdlike with its "beak" and "wings" I love the light emanating out of it. Diatoms are cool too.  Do others find these images beautiful?