Today is the birthday of Sir Francis Galton, I studied at the Galton Laboratory when I was at UCL doing postgraduate research, though sadly they have now closed the lab down.
Francis Galton was a Victorian polymath: anthropologist, tropical explorer, geographer, inventor, meteorologist, proto-geneticist, psychometrician, and statistician. He was the cousin of Charles Darwin and coined the famous phrase "Nature versus Nurture", he also gave the world the concept of the standard deviation (a measure to quantify the normal variation) and discovered the properties of a Bivariate normal distribution and it's relationship to regression analysis. He also introduced the concept of correlation. He was a pioneer of the use of normal distribution and was the first to explain and document the phenomenon of "regression towards the mean".
He was also one of the first to attempt to study the biology of genius and greatness in human populations, and as such was a proponent of eugenics (It is a social philosophy advocating the improvement of human hereditary traits through the promotion of higher reproduction of more desired people and traits, and reduced reproduction of less desired people and traits).
All of which makes me think of the Tyrell corporation in Blade Runner - "More human than human" and the genetically engineered replicants who are stronger, cleverer and more agile than humans. Today's dress is called Pris after Daryl Hannah's character. As a film I find it makes me ask "What does it mean to be human?", I always found it interesting that the Replicants are supposed to lack empathy, and yet Roy is far more eloquent in his rage, grief and fear than Deckard--an updated Frankenstein's monster who paraphrases the poet William Blake even as he fights for his life.
"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die."
Pris is a pretty dress which is futuristic and retro and the same time. It is a modern blend of heavy weight knit and panels of meredith satin - all of which combine to emphasise an hour glass shape. The sweetheart / scalloped neckline frames the decollete and bust beautifully, and your curves are defined by an adjustable underbust band.
Dress: Pris by Laura Byrne at Pinup Girl Clothing
Shoe: Kurt Geiger
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