Love Is Chemistry, Sex Is Physics

from the how-do-i-love-thee dept

Just in time for Valentine's Day come a few interesting articles about the biochemical pathways of romantic love and the scientific basis of physical attraction. People have been trying to decipher the secrets of love since the first caveman clubbed his beloved over her head and dragged her back to the cave with him. We've seen hundreds of services and technologies created over the past years to help lonely singles foment loving relationships. But, at what point do we cross the line between nudging fate and artificially creating relationships? And, does an indepth understanding of the psychology and chemistry of attraction destroy the some of the mystique behind falling in love? In this tech-powered world where everything is about hacking things apart, reverse engineering and understanding every last detail of how things work, perhaps some things are better left alone.
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  1. identicon
    Rickler, 13 Feb 2006 @ 10:12pm

    No Subject Given

    a quote from uncyclopedia
    Love is something humans call "special", when in reality, it is just a feeling that God created. You are God's A.I. project, after all, and He had to give you something to be getting along with so you didn't keep complaining all the time. Other sources state that love was invented by females to get men paying for dinners.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Merrigan, 13 Feb 2006 @ 10:22pm

    No Subject Given

    I personally agree that some things are better left alone. I do not want to know the science behind falling in love with womeone. To me it is one of the best sensations/emotions/feelings that we, as humans, have. I also see it as a privelage to be able to love someone with all your heart and not just "use" one another for self-preservation.

    No Thanx, I'll stick to being happy and in love, and not being all scientific about it...

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Joe, 13 Feb 2006 @ 10:38pm

    i'll take the examined life

    Does knowing that a rainbow is caused by refraction of light through raindrops diminish the beauty of it? Not to me. In fact, it gives me even more joy to know that I understand how things work. Like Einstein said, "The most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible."

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 13 Feb 2006 @ 10:55pm

    Re: No Subject Given

    considering you are happy and in love, I find your opinion to be useless

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. identicon
    Mica, 13 Feb 2006 @ 11:26pm

    Re: No Subject Given

    Made me laugh it is so true.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. identicon
    Jared Anderson, 13 Feb 2006 @ 11:33pm

    Re: No Subject Given

    I wanna know!!! Pretty Please tell me!!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. identicon
    Kevin Mesiab, 13 Feb 2006 @ 11:33pm

    Move along...

    Nothing you haven't learned in Psych 101.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 14 Feb 2006 @ 12:50am

    Re: No Subject Given

    Nice one.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  9. identicon
    ViRoX, 14 Feb 2006 @ 2:28am

    Re: No Subject Given

    Love aint all that it used to be yes some people can have that special chemical between each other but most of the time nowadays... if you were to ask a woman what she would rather have love or security... she would choose security over love, evolution has basicly ruined the thing we know as love and everyone is just out for what they can get out of a relationship nowadays... alas The world has forgot how to love

    link to this | view in thread ]

  10. identicon
    Dylan, 14 Feb 2006 @ 6:05am

    let us know!

    When we say "No I think we know just enough now," to one thing, it sets precendence to do it for others (You know what? I'm not interested in stem cell research; natural healing is just so magical.). Enough is only enough once we have given our best attempt at understanding everything we can with the technology we have. This means things that seem logical (Polio vaccines) and things that change our perception of the more "ethereal" (love, lust, desire, humor).

    The only thing that worries me is when marketing departments start hiring scientists. (Oops, too late)

    link to this | view in thread ]

  11. identicon
    Jeff, 14 Feb 2006 @ 7:11am

    Don't care

    Listen, not everyone wants to know or even cares. If you do, good for you. One big mistake most people make (both researchers and laypeople) is that everyone wants a "love" relationship. Not so. I don't. I've had some relationships that were good but ultimately I realized that I'd prefer to be single. Maybe some researcher should investigate why some people want to go it alone. And it's not because anyone is a "loser" or can't relate to people. All my friends rate me among the most friendly people they know. Let's just stop pretending that there's a right way to live, that God is commanding us all to get married or some crap... God is dead and so should the old traditions go....

    link to this | view in thread ]

  12. identicon
    Dan, 14 Feb 2006 @ 7:38am

    Secret about G.O.D.

    > it is just a feeling that God created. You are God's A.I. project, < br>
    The Global Operation Director does not actually exist!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  13. identicon
    Jojoman, 14 Feb 2006 @ 7:48am

    Re: Don't care

    Don't kid yourself. You're not going it alone...you've got all these friends that fulfill your needs. If your supply of whatever you're gettin were to be cut off, you'd be wanting someone to love and be loved by (and I'm not even talking about sex). There is a right way to live, and it includes marriage and complete fidelity thereafter. Just because you choose to live otherwise doesn't make it right. Your god (what you seek after and worship) may indeed be dead, but The God of all of us lives. When you're ready, give him another shot-privately.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  14. identicon
    feminine and professional, 14 Feb 2006 @ 9:00am

    Re: No Subject Given

    [nowadays... if you were to ask a woman what she would rather have love or security... she would choose security over love]
    not so! speaking with some experience in the world of being a woman - you're not talking to a true sampling of them if thats the response you're geting. Women that are looking for security over love are merely women who have been hurt by it and see no reason to trust it again... thus the willingness or preference to request security.
    Love hasn't been ruined by this so-called evolution. Many have found it. Its more likely that people are too lazy or too afraid of failure to bother risking it.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  15. identicon
    googly_eyes, 14 Feb 2006 @ 10:31am

    Perhaps it's the defenition that needs clarifying.

    Love means something different to everyone. My sense of "love" comes my experiences and my outlook in life, and what is love to me may not be to someone else.

    I think that in this day and age of free-form everything and the "define it myself" mentality, that people have found it difficult to find a consensus on many things, including what "Love" is.

    If my sense of history is correct, "Love" was mostly defined by the society an individual lived in, and thus was fairly "standard" (of course there are ALWAYS exceptions).

    With the sexual reveloution now redefining "Love", which used to be a mostly emotional term, into a mostly physical "relationship" oriented one, it's no wonder there are more than a few confused and bewildered souls about.

    So, perhaps before we seek the "answers", it's the question we had better pin down....

    link to this | view in thread ]

  16. identicon
    twenty something, 27 Mar 2006 @ 2:30pm

    artificially creating realtionships

    there's nothing wrong with artificially creating relationships, in fact it is a wide practise and we even have a special name for these sly artists of the psyche.
    women

    link to this | view in thread ]

  17. identicon
    Rai radano, 18 Aug 2006 @ 11:11am

    sceptic, as always.

    [The only thing that worries me is when marketing departments start hiring scientists. (Oops, too late)]
    yup, much too late ^^

    by the way does anyone know the term : "loverboys" ?

    ya, they pick up chicks, and abuse them to prostitution.
    and if some ppl got the approach all figured out, well, they can go get alot of chicks and dudes and whatever to bring up money for them.

    I don`t think it`s wise to research stuff like this to the fullest.

    from the very beginning of time, mankind has always abused the knowlegde they got.

    I think it would be better to scientiffically research wisdom, and how to get more of that into the world, before we go f**ing around with anything ethical or moral.

    link to this | view in thread ]


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