"Do the arabesques and hexagons, in our own minds, built into our brain organization, provide us with the first intimations of formal beauty?"
- Oliver Sacks, from his book "Hallucinations". The quote references the geometric hallucinations that sometimes precede migraine headaches. He points to this being a universal phenomenom, occurring in humans of all cultures, ages (Sacks himself experienced them as a three-year-old) and throughout history, one that connects us directly to nature through patterns-- an example being snowflakes.
"In this sense the geometrical hallucinations of migraine allow us to experience in ourselves not only a universal of neural functioning but a universal of nature itself."
- "Migraine-like patterns, indeed, can be found in Islamic art..."
"... in Zapotec architecture..."
"... Aboriginal artists in Australia..."
"..in Acoma pottery..."
"... in Swazi basketry..."
