
“Symmetry is overrated. Overrated is symmetry.”
[6vhq4r%24a6i@kiev.wall.org, 1998]
Usenet postings, 1998
An early appearance is "Symmetry is the aesthetics of the little man," which appears in the 1965 book Bauen auf dem Lande (Building in the Countryside), volumes 16-17. However, the quote has also variously been attributed to Picasso, Salvatore Dali and Friedensreich Hundertwasser.
Disputed
Source: "Symmetry is the aesthetics of the stupid." Mies van der Rohe (allegedly), 2018-01-21, 2017-11-12 http://falschzitate.blogspot.com/2017/11/symmetrie-ist-die-asthetik-der-dummen.html,
“Symmetry is overrated. Overrated is symmetry.”
[6vhq4r%24a6i@kiev.wall.org, 1998]
Usenet postings, 1998
“Human behavior is messy and unpredictable and unconcerned with convenient symmetries.”
Source: And the Mountains Echoed
“Consistency is the enemy of enterprise, just as symmetry is the enemy of art.”
As quoted in Bernard Shaw : The Lure of Fantasy (1991) by Michael Holroyd
1940s and later
“One of the chief chores in the next economy is to restore the symmetry of knowledge.”
Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems and the Economic World (1995), New Rules for the New Economy: 10 Radical Strategies for a Connected World (1999)
“Architecture depends on Order, Arrangement, Eurythmy, Symmetry, Propriety, and Economy.”
Source: De architectura (The Ten Books On Architecture) (~ 15BC), Book I, Chapter II "The Fundamental Principles of Architecture" Sec. 1
"Reminiscences of the Standard Model" - Special Colloquium by Steven Weinberg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mX2R8-nJhLQ, 17 October 2017, YouTube video at 1:02:17 of 1:39:24