Disparity between Treble/Bass clef

[matsz]

Hi there. I'm a self taught adult student. I bought a fullsize 76 key but non-weighted keyboard about 4-5 years ago. My main goal was and is to create music, but piano was always a side hobby. I've made many songs over the years but I decided to knuckle down and teach myself sight/note reading to gain a further knowledge of composition by "trial by fire" and also just to plainly expand my horizons.

It's been going better than I had ever imagined, but one thing really struck me as.. well, comepletely stupid for lack of a better term.

The Treble and Bass clefs are asymmetrical, right? But if, say, the treble clef was moved two steps up, it would become symmetrical with the bass clef. Now there would be a slight (1 step) gap near middle C, but couldn't it be middle D instead? That would fix the gap and also the entire keyboard is symmetrical about D (or g#/ab, but D is closer to middle C).

My question is, is there any valid reason for this asymmetry on the grand staff? (Treble and Bass, not below or above. I understand other instruments have different clefs, but lets ignore that for the sake of piano.).

Granted I am amatuer but the pro's I see for the current system are 'diationically oriented' (even though learning all key signatures seems like a massive f around, I can handle it) and 'compact'. Having both staves be equal in terms of reading doesn't violate that. Am I missing something?

[Bob]

I heard it used to be an eleven line staff, everything on one huge staff.  Then they took out the middle line.

Though having the same does make sense.

I suppose it's tradition and evolution of the staff. 

[anna_crusis]

Yes, it used to be an 11 line staff. So dividing it into two equal staves is an entirely logical and symmetrical thing to do. Not at all 'completely stupid'.

There's nothing difficult about reading two different staves. If you can't handle something as elementary as that, you may as well pack it in.