(National Geographic’s famous 1985 cover of the “Afghan girl”)
During my weekend websurfing, I came across a really intriguing study that links a person’s personality to the pattern of his or her iris! Yes, the paper actually proposes that the “crypts, pigment dots, and contraction furrows” of the iris can indicate aspects of personality, due to the idea that there are certain genes that influence both eye and brain development. Thus, a certain gene that codes for a specific personality trait such as truthfulness, might be encoded within the iris with a characteristic pattern. The published study declares that out of the 428 irises studied, the researchers determined certain patterns in the iris that showed “warm-heartedness and trust, or neuroticism and impulsivenesss” (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6375381.stm).
The idea does seem shocking at first, but when related to the idea that certain disorders causing brain disabilities such as Down Syndrome are associated with distinctive facial features, the possibility of personality traits being encoded in the iris doesn’t seem so radical. The study does include the fact that the retina is an extension of the central nervous system, as we discussed in class, so genes encoding for our brains and eye are definitely related. This is the argument used by people who favor encoding iris information of passports for profiling purposes, kind of like the security clearance systems used in government restricted entry sites that we have all seen shown in movies about he CIA/FBI. Anyways, the idea of an iris database seems like a pretty cool idea to me, but I don’t know about the idea that the pattern of my iris explaining aspects of my personality…that sounds waay too much like a modern version of Gall’s phrenology (And we know how “scientific” that idea was)
The study did not claim any relation to the field of iridology, which seems to be pretty shady but is VERY interesting to read about. So if you’re interested, hit up this baller link for more information about what markings in your iris might show about problems in your body from kidney and gall bladder disease to high blood pressure .
