In praise of… Irregularity

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/03/in-praise-of-irregularity

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When buying fruit and vegetables this Christmas, the model to have in mind is the Guadagnini violin. Scientists in Trieste have discovered that the reason why these violins produce such exceptional sound (they think that this will prove true for the Stradivarius violin too) is the tiny irregularities introduced in its construction that give it an edge over symmetrical instruments. In other words, its perfection comes from its imperfection. Keep this in mind when you find in the supermarkets the kind of produce they normally refuse as misshapen, of which, after a rotten harvest this year, there may be lots. There is no reason why a potato or a parsnip whose appearance brings to mind the face of a witch out of Macbeth should taste any less good than its prettier colleagues. To think otherwise is mere superstition. Let us hope that these findings help banish such prejudice — and not just in the Christmas shops, either.