Michael, I thought I'd covered my views on this topic, but I have to add my comment.
> Is it wrong for humans to try to achieve perfect symmetry? It seems nature is trying. Nature is trying, very trying (I hope you know that English trope). Can we know perfection? No. Can we aspire to it? Yes. Perfection is a goal, even in nature. Einstein rejected Bohr's thoughts on Quanta, saying God doesn't play dice. (the quote may be aprochryphal). Bringing it back to the lute, your ear is the best tuning device. Even the paired courses have a diffence in tonality. Nothing is perfect, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't aspire to perfection. Best, Jon To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html