They tell us that paisley is merely a design or a symbol, but don't believe their lies. In this figure from
Behavior of the Lower Organisms by Herbert Spencer Jennings, 1906, we see that paisley behaviour is carefully studied, if not fully understood. The top right arrow shows the direction the paisley turns in response to stimulation, while the three interior arrows indicate the direction of the beat of the cilia. "What form of life is paisley, exactly?" asks Jude Stewart in
Salon. Common answers include an uncurling date palm shoot, a cypress pine, a leech, a lotus, and a mango, but the truth may have us reaching for our hankies.
