Nervy Sex Appeal
1
www.sciammind.com SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MIND 1 (from the editor) M IND THOUGHT • IDEAS • BRAIN SCIENCE EDITOR IN CHIEF: John Rennie EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Mariette DiChristina ART DIRECTOR: Edward Bell ISSUE ART DIRECTOR: Patti Nemoto ISSUE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR: Bridget Gerety Small PRODUCTION EDITOR: Richard Hunt COPY DIRECTOR: Maria-Christina Keller COPY CHIEF: Molly K. Frances ASSISTANT COPY CHIEF: Daniel C. Schlenoff COPY AND RESEARCH: Michael Battaglia, Rachel Dvoskin, John Matson, Eugene A. Raikhel, Kenneth Silber, Michelle Wright EDITORIAL DIRECTOR ONLINE: Kate Wong EDITORIAL ADMINISTRATOR: Jacob Lasky SENIOR SECRETARY: Maya Harty CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Phil Cohen, David Dobbs, Robert Epstein BOARD OF ADVISERS: HAL ARKOWITZ: Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Arizona STEPHEN J. CECI: Professor of Developmental Psychology, Cornell University R. DOUGLAS FIELDS: Chief, Nervous System Development and Plasticity Section, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development S. ALEXANDER HASLAM: Professor of Social and Organizational Psychology, University of Exeter CHRISTOF KOCH: Professor of Cognitive and Behavioral Biology, California Institute of Technology SCOTT O. LILIENFELD: Associate Professor of Psychology, Emory University JOHN H. MORRISON: Chairman, Department of Neuroscience, and Director, Neurobiology of Aging Laboratories, Mount Sinai School of Medicine VILAYANUR S. RAMACHANDRAN: Director, Center for the Brain and Cognition, University of California, San Diego, and Adjunct Professor, Salk Institute for Biological Studies DIANE ROGERS-RAMACHANDRAN: Research Associate, Center for the Brain and Cognition, University of California, San Diego STEPHEN REICHER: Professor of Psychology, University of St. Andrews Many of the articles in this issue are adapted from articles originally appearing in Gehirn & Geist. ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER, PRODUCTION: William Sherman MANUFACTURING MANAGER: Janet Cermak ADVERTISING PRODUCTION MANAGER: Carl Cherebin PREPRESS AND QUALITY MANAGER: Silvia De Santis PRODUCTION MANAGER: Christina Hippeli CUSTOM PUBLISHING MANAGER: Madelyn Keyes-Milch HOW TO CONTACT US FOR GENERAL INQUIRIES OR TO SEND A LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Scientific American Mind 415 Madison Avenue New York NY 10017-1111 212-451-8200 [email protected] COVER IMAGE BY JEAN-FRANCOIS PODEVIN Nervy Sex Appeal “67-year-old dissatisfied flâneur picking my toothless way through the urban sprawl, self-destructive, sliding towards pathos, jacked up on Viagra and on the lookout for a contortionist who plays the trumpet.” No surprises there. Romantic hopefuls in the London Review of Books per- sonals drolly dis themselves routinely, boasting that they are, among other things, older than 100, infertile, flatulent, “big-boned” and look like “Hervé Villechaize and carry an odour of wheat.” David Rose of the London Review collected gems such as the one above in They Call Me Naughty Lola (Scribner, 2006). Such humble notices starkly contrast the superhero-like self-portraits in on- line dating venues, where every woman seems to be attractive, fit and 29 and each man is wealthy, tall and toned. But all lovelorn writers share a goal: telegraphing their worth (whether by self-abasement or by self-promotion) to potential part- ners. In his article “The Truth about Online Dating,” psychologist Robert Epstein takes a look at what modern courting reveals about us. Turn to page 28. Delving deeper into the mysteries of our unconscious longings, neuroscientist R. Douglas Fields writes of a little-known cranial nerve that may provide a sig- naling link for subliminal sexual attraction. In “Sex and the Secret Nerve,” starting on page 20, he reveals the intriguing findings about cranial nerve zero. Most people would say that finding love is a key to greater happiness, along with achievements like a bigger home, a better car, more money and fame. But research suggests none of these things is likely to increase bliss significantly. “Why It’s So Hard to Be Happy,” by psychologist Michael Wiederman, tells how ancient humans’ perpetual search for a better life—historically, a survival ad- vantage— can now leave us dissatisfied despite the comforts of today’s world. Learn more beginning on page 36. One lesson is that “happy people tend to en- gage in activities that are challenging and absorbing” —such as reading articles in Scientific American Mind. Okay, I slipped in that last part. Happy now? Mariette DiChristina Executive Editor [email protected]
Transcript of Nervy Sex Appeal
www.sc iammind.com SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MIND 1
(from the editor)
MINDTHOUGHT • IDEAS • BRAIN SCIENCE
EDITOR IN CHIEF: John RennieEXECUTIVE EDITOR: Mariette DiChristina
ART DIRECTOR: Edward Bell ISSUE ART DIRECTOR: Patti Nemoto ISSUE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR: Bridget Gerety SmallPRODUCTION EDITOR: Richard Hunt
COPY DIRECTOR: Maria-Christina Keller COPY CHIEF: Molly K. FrancesASSISTANT COPY CHIEF: Daniel C. SchlenoffCOPY AND RESEARCH: Michael Battaglia, Rachel Dvoskin, John Matson, Eugene A. Raikhel, Kenneth Silber, Michelle Wright
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR ONLINE: Kate Wong
EDITORIAL ADMINISTRATOR: Jacob Lasky SENIOR SECRETARY: Maya Harty
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Phil Cohen,David Dobbs, Robert Epstein
BOARD OF ADVISERS :
HAL ARKOWITZ: Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Arizona
STEPHEN J. CECI : Professor of Developmental Psychology, Cornell University
R. DOUGLAS FIELDS: Chief, Nervous System Development and Plasticity Section, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
S. ALEXANDER HASLAM: Professor of Social and Organizational Psychology, University of Exeter
CHRISTOF KOCH: Professor of Cognitive and Behavioral Biology, California Institute of Technology
SCOTT O. LILIENFELD: Associate Professor of Psychology, Emory University
JOHN H. MORRISON: Chairman, Department of Neuroscience, and Director, Neurobiology of Aging Laboratories, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
VILAYANUR S. RAMACHANDRAN: Director, Center for the Brain and Cognition, University of California, San Diego, and Adjunct Professor, Salk Institute for Biological Studies
DIANE ROGERS-RAMACHANDRAN: Research Associate, Center for the Brain and Cognition, University of California, San Diego
STEPHEN REICHER: Professor of Psychology, University of St. Andrews
Many of the articles in this issue are adapted from articles originally appearing in Gehirn & Geist.
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER, PRODUCTION: William Sherman MANUFACTURING MANAGER: Janet Cermak ADVERTISING PRODUCTION MANAGER: Carl Cherebin PREPRESS AND QUALITY MANAGER: Silvia De SantisPRODUCTION MANAGER: Christina Hippeli CUSTOM PUBLISHING MANAGER: Madelyn Keyes-Milch
HOW TO CONTACT US
FOR GENERAL INQUIRIES OR TO SEND A LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Scientifi c American Mind 415 Madison Avenue New York NY 10017-1111 [email protected]
OV
ER
IM
AG
E B
Y J
EA
N-F
RA
NC
OIS
PO
DE
VIN
Nervy Sex Appeal“67-year-old dissatisfi ed fl âneur picking my toothless way through the urban sprawl, self-destructive, sliding towards pathos, jacked up on Viagra and on the lookout for a contortionist who plays the trumpet.”
No surprises there. Romantic hopefuls in the London Review of Books per-sonals drolly dis themselves routinely, boasting that they are, among other things, older than 100, infertile, fl atulent, “big-boned” and look like “Hervé Villechaize and carry an odour of wheat.” David Rose of the London Review collected gems such as the one above in They Call Me Naughty Lola (Scribner, 2006).
Such humble notices starkly contrast the superhero-like self-portraits in on-line dating venues, where every woman seems to be attractive, fi t and 29 and each man is wealthy, tall and toned. But all lovelorn writers share a goal: telegraphing their worth (whether by self-abasement or by self-promotion) to potential part-ners. In his article “The Truth about Online Dating,” psychologist Robert Epstein takes a look at what modern courting reveals about us. Turn to page 28.
Delving deeper into the mysteries of our unconscious longings, neuroscientist R. Douglas Fields writes of a little-known cranial nerve that may provide a sig-naling link for subliminal sexual attraction. In “Sex and the Secret Nerve,” starting on page 20, he reveals the intriguing fi ndings about cranial nerve zero.
Most people would say that fi nding love is a key to greater happiness, along with achievements like a bigger home, a better car, more money and fame. But research suggests none of these things is likely to increase bliss signifi cantly. “Why It’s So Hard to Be Happy,” by psychologist Michael Wiederman, tells how ancient humans’ perpetual search for a better life—historically, a survival ad-vantage—can now leave us dissatisfi ed despite the comforts of today’s world. Learn more beginning on page 36. One lesson is that “happy people tend to en-gage in activities that are challenging and absorbing”—such as reading articles in Scientifi c American Mind. Okay, I slipped in that last part. Happy now?
Mariette DiChristina Executive Editor
