According to an objective computation of photos, coral reefs can be more attractive than plainer or less appealing ones. When we examine natural settings, most of us find those that are healthy and flourishing more attractive than the ones which are in decline. Philosophers and art historians around the globe have searched long for an universally accepted criteria to define aesthetic principles. A way to quantitatively describe beauty and ugly. The Getty Research Institute in art history and biology, San Diego State University and Scripps Institution of Oceanography are among the many institutions that have developed a new computing approach to help them assess what they find attractive. Kingman Reef, an uninhabited, remote reef located halfway between American Samoa and the Hawaiian Islands in Central Pacific, is an example a healthy reef. (Image: www.sensiphi.com. Jennifer E Smith Credit. They created a computational tool to measure the beauty of coral reefs. The results showed that the objective visual cues from random photographs can be reliably used to assess the beauty and health of coral reefs around the globe. A computer program assigns coral reefs beauty scores. The research team published their results in PeerJ. They created and edited a list 109 visual characteristics that they claimed can be used for assessing the photo’s aesthetic appeal. These features include color, size and relative distribution, color intensity, texture, and color intensity. The researchers then created a program to assess the visual features in images and applied it to over 2 random photos of coral reefs across different regions of the globe. Each reef ecosystem was assigned an aesthetic score by the program. Andreas Haas (post-doctoral researcher at San Diego State University), explained that the results show striking similarities in the aesthetic scores of random reef images with the health of each reef ecosystem. This was after the program had been scientifically evaluated. A house and garden in 2005. before and after Katrina. The picture to the left would be considered more beautiful than that of the right, according to all people. The health and beauty of an area is directly related to our perceptions of it. (Image: hurricanescience.org) Perceived beauty and actual health are closely linked Dr. Haas said: “Our results suggest that our perception of aesthetics is well-aligned with healthy, thriving ecosystems.” The study shows that our perception of aesthetic value is not completely subjective, but closely linked to the inherent components of nature that indicate healthy or degraded states. This tool may be useful for ecologists to monitor the health and status of coral reef ecosystems. Dr. Haas stated that “By quantifying the aesthetic features of coral coral reef systems this method provides an economical tool that also targets one key socioeconomic value of coral reefs, their natural beauty.” Our five senses help us seek out healthy objects and environment and to avoid those which are harmful. Rotting foods, which can be dangerous to our health, have an unpleasant odor that is difficult for us to smell. The researchers can give you an aesthetic score by uploading an image to their website. Citation: Can beauty be measured? Computational evaluation coral reef aesthetics,” Andreas F. Haas, Marine Guibert. Anja Foerschner. Tim Co. Sandi Calhoun. Emma George. Mark Hatay. Elizabeth Dinsdale. Stuart A. Sandin. Jennifer E. Smith. Mark J.A. Vermeij. Phillip Dustan. Peter Salamon. Forest Rohwer. PeerJ. November DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj. 1390.
