Why Is This So Frustrating?

Humans love symmetry. It’s like a button we have inside our brains that can’t be turned off. That may help to explain why it’s so frustrating to look at this uneven set of dice. We know it’s irrational, but we can’t stop ourselves from wanting to correct that horizontal line of six. We love things that match, and we hate it when they don’t!

Our love for symmetry is associated with biological and psychological reasons. Symmetry is a sign of good health (ideal, for instance, for choosing partners) and of order in the universe (something most humans crave for).