The science of attraction - Dawn Maslar

Romantic chemistry is all about warm, gooey feelings that gush from the deepest depths of the heart...right? Not quite. Actually, the real boss behind attraction is your brain, which runs through a very quick, very complex series of calculations when assessing a potential partner. Dawn Maslar explores how our five senses contribute to this mating game, citing some pretty wild studies along the way.

Lesson by Dawn Maslar, animation by TOGETHER.

[aimeemarie]

*talks to crush*
Me: I hope his nose liked my pheromones

[diongzonfrenzelroan]

People: Love comes from the heart.

Brain: Am i a joke to you?

[ives]

"long lustrous hair or scar free skin"
Me: then explain to me why I'm still attracted to Zuko

[jolez_]

The formula of attaction is F=G((m1*m2)/r^2), where G is gravitational constant, m1 and m2 are masses of the object and r is the distance between them.

[achille]

Lesson: girls, if you wanna attract a guy remember to wear the same shirt 3 days in a row while ovulating

[georgeszweden]

The more I warch TED the more i think I'm a psychopath.

[karmanatorjangpangi]

I explained this to my girlfriend, she now thinks that I'm an emotionless, hearless and feelingless human being. Thank you science.

[RaggedyRosemary]

i never liked this boy in my class before but one day i had to pass this worksheet to him and he said 'thankyou'. and for some reason i just started swooning over him after that moment

[NeonAtary]

actually that makes it even more romantic ! knowing that not only my eyes or heart are falling in love but also my nose and immune system did too 😍

[chroprs]

A LOT of people here are completely forgetting that attraction is much more complicated than this. No matter how perfect a person might be to me scientifically, if they start insulting me then I'm not going to be attracted to them.

[RoshniS]

actually the fact that romance is so scientific is beautiful because your entire body is part of this. It's like every part of your body is in tandem with your thoughts

[oddrii_malenchki]

"Enhances your Memory"
Me: Imma get a boyfriend soon so I can memorize Math Equations

[aerowindwalker]

How do you explain that many people tend to be attracted to those who are not attracted in return?

[moriweem]

When the teacher says to pick a partner and you and your best friend be like: 1:15

[zydhas]

It's funny because it's often looked down upon, or perhaps not taken as seriously (even by me), but by this logic the purest relationships would actually be one's that start online or even more through anonymous site based interaction, as if a relationship forms only through an exchange of words, it means attraction is based fully on and through personality aspects, and no other depreciating factors. What a time to be alive.

[Liusila]

Better practice my high-pitched breathy voice then...

[megabuster]

Definitely a better love story than TWILIGHT.

[ryanglennconda]

great presentation on the physiological processes of attraction. can't help but nod to every aspect of the senses' reactions. but of course, it's more than physiological, it's also psychological! :)

[chaapaa]

All i can say is who ever was narrating this got one of the most comforting voice I've ever heard.

[vivianqing]

even science proves that looks matters! FML