For the first time in thirteen years, Rosemary runs into Willis, her former classmate, and is shocked at how he’s changed. Back in high school she was attractive and popular, and Rosemary wrote off Willis as a scrawny nerd who was only good at studying. Now, he’s a professor at an acclaimed university and has come back to her village to observe a passing comet…and she can’t help but observe his stellar body. During his stay in the village, he’ll be sleeping over at Rosemary’s house. Will more than the comet be keeping him up at night?

Examining the history of phrenology and physiognomy, Beauty and the Brain proposes a bold new way of understanding the connection between science, politics, and popular culture in early America. Between the 1770s and the 1860s, people all across the globe relied on physiognomy and phrenology to evaluate human worth. These once-popular but now discredited disciplines were based on a deceptively simple premise: that facial features or skull shape could reveal a person’s intelligence, character, and personality. In the United States, these were culturally ubiquitous sciences that both elite thinkers and ordinary people used to understand human nature. While the modern world dismisses phrenology and physiognomy as silly and debunked disciplines, Beauty and the Brain shows why they must be taken seriously: they were the intellectual tools that a diverse group of Americans used to debate questions of race, gender, and social justice. While prominent intellectuals and political thinkers invoked these sciences to justify hierarchy, marginalized people and progressive activists deployed them for their own political aims, creatively interpreting human minds and bodies as they fought for racial justice and gender equality. Ultimately, though, physiognomy and phrenology were as dangerous as they were popular. In addition to validating the idea that external beauty was a sign of internal worth, these disciplines often appealed to the very people who were damaged by their prejudicial doctrines. In taking physiognomy and phrenology seriously, Beauty and the Brain recovers a vibrant—if largely forgotten—cultural and intellectual universe, showing how popular sciences shaped some of the greatest political debates of the American past.

About the Book Beauty and the Brain: The Aesthetic Compass NeuroAesthetics: Where Consciousness and the Physics of the Universe Meet explores how we as a society perceive beauty. This fascinating text provides an explanation of how aesthetic appreciation occurs by a match of the structure of the brain and external forms. It also describes the brain mechanisms by which humans perceive beauty and how the logarithmic spiral form common in the universe is the same form inside the human brain. The reader will learn deep truths about how humans perceive beauty by sharing certain fundamental logarithmic spiral brain maps and logarithmic spiral forms external to the brain, such as Hurricanes, Galaxies and Snail Shells. About the Author Dr. Robert W. Thatcher earned a B.S. degree in chemistry and a Ph.D. in Psychology with a major in Biopsychology. He is a world-renowned Neuroscientist and has published over 200 scientific papers and eight books. He is the recipient of numerous rewards such as: The Hans Berger Award of Merit, Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, Neurofeedback Division; Lifetime Achievement Award in EEG and Quantitative EEG, International Society for Neurofeedback and Research, and the year 2000 Pioneer in Medicine Award, Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics. He is currently the founder and CEO of Applied Neuroscience, Inc. in St. Petersburg, Florida.

". . . an entertaining historical romance that brings to life a bygone fascinating era of Americana history." ~Harriet Klausner Silent film star Brenda Fitzpatrick has supported her family via her beautiful face since she was twelve, carefully hiding her keen mind behind a well-crafted featherheaded-blonde facade. Then Brenda lands her dream job--the lead in Martin Tafft's latest romantic flicker--and encounters Colin Peters. Tafft's newest research assistant, Colin is a scientist, not a sentimentalist. The fact that Brenda Fitzpatrick turns his head only means he might be able to make love to her if he follows the natural mating techniques he's studied in other species. But when Colin attempts his seduction, Brenda is incensed, wanting to be recognized for her brain, and Colin comes face-to-face with the seemingly impossible: a love more real than any celluloid fantasy. "The silent motion picture industry once again provides the fascinating backdrop for Alice Duncan's second novel in the Dream Maker series. ~Cindy Penn, Word Weaving "A lovely tale. Loved it!" ~Norah Wilson, USA Today bestselling author THE DREAM MAKER SERIES, in order . . . Cowboy for Hire Beauty and the Brain The Miner's Daughter Her Leading Man

Examining the history of phrenology and physiognomy, Beauty and the Brain proposes a bold new way of understanding the connection between science, politics, and popular culture in early America. Between the 1770s and the 1860s, people all across the globe relied on physiognomy and phrenology to evaluate human worth. These once-popular but now discredited disciplines were based on a deceptively simple premise: that facial features or skull shape could reveal a person’s intelligence, character, and personality. In the United States, these were culturally ubiquitous sciences that both elite thinkers and ordinary people used to understand human nature. While the modern world dismisses phrenology and physiognomy as silly and debunked disciplines, Beauty and the Brain shows why they must be taken seriously: they were the intellectual tools that a diverse group of Americans used to debate questions of race, gender, and social justice. While prominent intellectuals and political thinkers invoked these sciences to justify hierarchy, marginalized people and progressive activists deployed them for their own political aims, creatively interpreting human minds and bodies as they fought for racial justice and gender equality. Ultimately, though, physiognomy and phrenology were as dangerous as they were popular. In addition to validating the idea that external beauty was a sign of internal worth, these disciplines often appealed to the very people who were damaged by their prejudicial doctrines. In taking physiognomy and phrenology seriously, Beauty and the Brain recovers a vibrant—if largely forgotten—cultural and intellectual universe, showing how popular sciences shaped some of the greatest political debates of the American past.

Frameworks -- Beauty -- Art -- Music -- Dance -- Architecture.

BLAME IT ON BOB BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR… Too bad sexy Rosemary March didn't heed this advice—because as an adolescent, she'd harbored a secret wish to get even with nerdy, brainy Willis Random. She'd also has other secret wishes involving him—ones she hoped to realize if she ever got the chance. And suddenly, thirteen years later, there was a chance—all six feet two inches of him—knocking at her door. And as Rosemary stared at the magnificent speciment that Willis had turned into, she swore she was going to have one more crack at him. Prove to the science whiz that hers was a body as worthy of study as any comet's. If it was the last thing she did… BLAME IT ON BOB:The comet passes through only once every fifteen years…but it leaves behind a lifetime of love!

The Aesthetic Brain takes the reader on a wide-ranging journey addressing fundamental questions about aesthetics and art. Using neuroscience and evolutionary psychology, Chatterjee shows how beauty, pleasure, and art are grounded biologically, and offers explanations for why beauty, pleasure, and art exist at all.