Why are patterns so fascinating?

Art is the imposing of a pattern on experience, and our aesthetic enjoyment is recognition of the pattern."
Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947), English philosopher and mathematician. Dialogues, June 10, 1943.

A pattern is something that repeats. And as simple as this sounds we are surrounded by a myriad of patterns everywhere, everyday. Our brains are wired for pattern recognition, because recognition of patterns is key to our survival. For example, the better you are at recognizing the patterns of cars travelling along a road, the more successfully you are able to cross this road avoiding the flow of traffic.

Our brains are constantly searching out new patterns to add to its database of knowledge. The more patterns your brain is able to recognize, the more you are improving your ability to relate information and thereby increasing your intelligence.

I can only speak for myself, but I get a curious sense of satisfaction and pleasure when looking at patterns. It is peaceful & meditative to sink yourself into a pattern, seeing both the whole and the fine details at the same time. I think that because our brains are wired to be a 'pattern-matching' organ, we are also wired to find pleasure in finding patterns. This can be shown by the vast amount of patterns created by different cultures throughout history. Below I have included some examples patterns that inspire me - I particularly like mosaics, traditional rugs & fractals:

Above: Roof of the tomb of Persian poet Hafez at Shiraz, Iran, Province of Fars.

Above: Caucasion Panel


Above: Mandelbrot fractal

Above: Inca Pattern Rug