The Beauty of Symmetry and the Charm of its Breaking

Andrej Cadez

University of Ljubljana

I will describe the development of the notion of symmetry as a personal experience in appreciation of beauty of forms, music, motion etc. toward the more formal mathematical notion of symmetry.
The aesthetic pleasure associated by the symmetry is a powerful force of inspiration, which drives our imagination. When trying to understand symmetry, one is bound to break it. I would like to argue that symmetry breaking brings dynamics in the otherwise beautiful but uneventful world. I will describe how different astronomical discoveries can be seen in this perspective, in particular, Piazzi's discovery is a perfect example of search for symmetry (expressed in Titius-Bode law) and its breaking. Ceres was found on the more or less the expected orbit, yet it differs from other planets in so many ways that the Titius-Bode law could no longer be considered as the basic symmetry relation regarding the genesis of our Solar system.