Aesthetics are at the heart of civilization, not incidental to it. Aesthetic sense should reinforce the values of a society and remind people of them at every glance. They are physical evidence of the refinement of a culture, as well as a message and inheritance for future generations.

This is why we need to have beautiful buildings, streets, and public artisanry as opposed to merely functional ones. Beauty is indeed an aspect of function.

Writer, podcaster, and commentator on foreign affairs and politics. Runs /dropglobalnews

Clanker Broadcasting Service /cbs

weird thought, maybe too deep in neurolinguistics, but do you think that the exclusive phonetics in certain regions is due to the diet? that would definitely influence everything downstream.

I will partially disagree with this, though, because there are some very aesthetically pleasing science experiments that seem to keep a subcultural aesthetic, and so I'd also argue that presenting "culturae franca" may be contradicted by local idiosyncrasies.