Circles: Science, Sense and Symbol (review)

Circles: Science, Sense and Symbol by Nicholas Wade is truly an inspiring book. The author, a leader in the field of visual psychology and a professor of the subject at the University of Dundee, seamlessly blends historical commentary, graphic design, perceptual research, symbolic references, and artistic projects that have effectively incorporated the circle (e.g. Marcel Duchamp's rotoreliefs). At the beginning, Wade tells us that our perception of the circle will emerge from the sequence of the designs he presents. Beginning with simpler circles and then moving to complex patterns, this is indeed the case. Multiple drawings (on practically every page) provide ample visual evidence of circular patterns, and the variety establishes that design variations play with our eyes and sensibilities. Whether an abstract image, an illustration that triggers illusions of rotation or an "embedded picture" that does not physically exist anywhere in an objective sense, it was apparent that the eye reacts to stimuli and contrasts. Wade also fully examines the symbolic ideas associated with this form.

Perhaps the most useful feature of the book is its demonstration of the range of perceptual, aesthetic and symbolic possibilities. Particularly valuable in this regard is the author's use of the symbolic circle as counterpoint to the perceptual frame of reference. Young children, for example, often use the circle to symbolize the sun, a logical correlation given the similarity in shape. Older cultures offer an interesting contrast. Like young children, ancient people were apt to use circles to symbolize the sun. Yet their symbolism included broader references and a measure of complexity generally absent in the circles of children. For example, the groups of dots on Lascaux cave paintings (and those of other regions containing groups) are believed to have had cosmological implications. This type of symbolic language underscores that circles have (and still carry) multifaceted and abstract meanings that signify eternity, infinity and other ideas.

Wade's visual portraits are the most original aspect of the book. Depicting people whose ideas and work he includes, the faces offer yet another frame of reference for the substantive ideas. Some of the artwork is impressively on target, such as Yin-Jung (the integration of Carl Jung with the yin/yang symbol he classified as archetypal), a kaleidoscopic rendering of David Brewster, and Thomas Young's Interference, (a depiction of Young superimposed on a diagram of circular interference patterns). A few of the less-formal drawings, such as his Archimedes, which is made of loosely intersecting circles, offer a nice reprieve from the formal visuals that predominate. Other portraits, while ingenious, are more difficult to distinguish. Wade recognizes this and explains that many of his portraits work better if seen from a distance. I would have liked to receive the less discernable portraits as loose pages, in a pocket inside the back cover, so that I could put them on the wall and ponder them as I read. I did not want to break the spine of my book, and since it was hard to flatten, distant viewing was somewhat challenging. Fortunately, many of the portraits are included on the web, and this format helps the reader to view them. A good place to find examples is in Wade's presentation titled Scientific Art or Artistic Science (see <www.smfl.fi/SAT2006/presentations/1A/Wade_SAT2006.pdf>).

All in all, Wade captures the circle's magic and our fascination with this form. The drawings convey the circle's abstractness and suggest that this aspect of the form is one that stimulates our imaginations. He also reminds us that children draw circles endlessly, and that this form is found on human artifacts such as coins and crockery. Equally intriguing, as he points out, is that our fascination with this geometry endures although there are few natural circles. To be sure, we can identify some (e.g. throwing a (spherical) stone into a pond can result in a circular ripple forming on the surface of the water). Yet, our phenomenal...