The Doctor of .....ummm...errr....
An article from the Times of India (Jan 11, 2007):
36-24-36: Stat that appealed down the ages
Ancient Indian, Chinese, British Texts Reveal Power Of Figure
Julie Wheldon
An hourglass figure is more than just a fancy of fashion. Scientists believe the waspish waist has “universal and timeless appeal” that crosses a variety of generations and cultures. Now they have the figures to prove it. And it will also help explain the popularity of glamourous women ranging from Sophia Loren and Marilyn Monroe to Kylie Minogue. The research is based on analysis of almost 350,000 works of fiction from Britain and the US.
The scientists studied the various works to see how often, and in what manner, writers referred to the female waist. As a comparison they also picked out references to other parts of the body including the breasts, hips, legs, thighs and buttocks. They then repeated the experiment with Mahabharata and Ramayana between the 1st and 3rd century and Chinese dynastic Palace poetry between the 4th and 6th century.
They found breasts received the most mentions, cropping up 219 times. However, on only 16 occasions was the shape or size referred to as well. There were however 66 references to waists — with every single one specifying a slim waist. This was important because it showed waists were considered attractive, regardless of culture and before the influence of mass media.
Lead researcher Devendra Singh of the University of Texas said: “The common historical assumption in the social sciences has been that the standards of beauty are arbitrary, solely culturally determined and in the eye of the beholder.”
“The finding that the writers describe a small waist as beautiful suggests instead that this body part — a known marker of health and fertility — is a core feature of feminine beauty that transcends ethnic differences and cultures.” The Indian and Chinese literature in the study featured very different depictions of women. Indian artists showed naked bodies sometimes in sexual acts, while the Chinese tradition did not sanction this. DAILY MAIL
Forgive me for being too much of a geek, but my first thought on reading this was: "What did this chappie put down on his Statement of Purpose when he applied?"
"I have been noticing women since I can remember. I have always been curious to know how their waist size has been defined through time, and I feel that a PhD. in this field is something I am well equipped for." ?
or perhaps
"I like women, I like numbers, I like history and I would like to put these three together towards my Doctor of Philosophy studies" ?
Having been at an institute where people genuinely work hard on their research topics and write papers which usually read something like:
"An Algorithm to determine the optimal nature of blah blah blah in a blah blah environment" , a paper which went:
"Female body parts - a count" is something one does not usually come across.
People here run thousands of simulations, analyse the data, and then try to extract results. Had it been well known that it is possible to get a PhD for counting the number of occurences of the word "breast" in ancient texts , I am sure there would have been a lot more interesting research topics.
So, for all of you who have dreamed of that elusive title - PhD, or those who are stuck for a thesis topic - don't fret; all you need is a subscription to Playboy!
36-24-36: Stat that appealed down the ages
Ancient Indian, Chinese, British Texts Reveal Power Of Figure
Julie Wheldon
An hourglass figure is more than just a fancy of fashion. Scientists believe the waspish waist has “universal and timeless appeal” that crosses a variety of generations and cultures. Now they have the figures to prove it. And it will also help explain the popularity of glamourous women ranging from Sophia Loren and Marilyn Monroe to Kylie Minogue. The research is based on analysis of almost 350,000 works of fiction from Britain and the US.
The scientists studied the various works to see how often, and in what manner, writers referred to the female waist. As a comparison they also picked out references to other parts of the body including the breasts, hips, legs, thighs and buttocks. They then repeated the experiment with Mahabharata and Ramayana between the 1st and 3rd century and Chinese dynastic Palace poetry between the 4th and 6th century.
They found breasts received the most mentions, cropping up 219 times. However, on only 16 occasions was the shape or size referred to as well. There were however 66 references to waists — with every single one specifying a slim waist. This was important because it showed waists were considered attractive, regardless of culture and before the influence of mass media.
Lead researcher Devendra Singh of the University of Texas said: “The common historical assumption in the social sciences has been that the standards of beauty are arbitrary, solely culturally determined and in the eye of the beholder.”
“The finding that the writers describe a small waist as beautiful suggests instead that this body part — a known marker of health and fertility — is a core feature of feminine beauty that transcends ethnic differences and cultures.” The Indian and Chinese literature in the study featured very different depictions of women. Indian artists showed naked bodies sometimes in sexual acts, while the Chinese tradition did not sanction this. DAILY MAIL
Forgive me for being too much of a geek, but my first thought on reading this was: "What did this chappie put down on his Statement of Purpose when he applied?"
"I have been noticing women since I can remember. I have always been curious to know how their waist size has been defined through time, and I feel that a PhD. in this field is something I am well equipped for." ?
or perhaps
"I like women, I like numbers, I like history and I would like to put these three together towards my Doctor of Philosophy studies" ?
Having been at an institute where people genuinely work hard on their research topics and write papers which usually read something like:
"An Algorithm to determine the optimal nature of blah blah blah in a blah blah environment" , a paper which went:
"Female body parts - a count" is something one does not usually come across.
People here run thousands of simulations, analyse the data, and then try to extract results. Had it been well known that it is possible to get a PhD for counting the number of occurences of the word "breast" in ancient texts , I am sure there would have been a lot more interesting research topics.
So, for all of you who have dreamed of that elusive title - PhD, or those who are stuck for a thesis topic - don't fret; all you need is a subscription to Playboy!
posted by Firebringer at 6:23 PM
6 comments
