The Laws of Attraction
Awesome. I went to my first session of swing dance lessons today, at Rice University, and I was (in my interpretation of the experience ;) HIT UPON BY THE HOT EUROPEAN CO-INSTRUCTOR. She spoke with an accent. Oddly, her name was distinctly Southern (elided here for her privacy). I wonder if it's just the Anglicized version of an Eastern bloc name. I'm pretty sure she was interested, b/c she was intermittently staring at me the whole time, and then she came over and danced with me (she didn't do so with other guys) for a long time, throwing out all kinds of helpful real-time advice and then almost profuse compliments for how quickly I adapted myself with her suggestions. She was a little too helpful, I believe. And she seemed to be my age (I'm 25), while most of the rest of the people were a bit younger.
Of course, another interpretation is that I really suck at dancing and she was just trying to help my sorry self. :) (But I'm pretty sure I knew what I was doing, since I've taken West Coast Swing lessons before.)
I'm inclined to believe Dr. K's assertion that we choose mates more so by scent than by looks. (A scent different from one's own can imply genetic difference and therefore a higher chance of reproductive success. By "scent" I mean the natural scent that identifies us uniquely and that dogs can use to find us. Note that other species rely heavily on these personal scents for reproduction and other stuff.) At dance classes over the years, I've encountered many women who were physically beautiful (good bone structure, etc.) from a distance, and therefore initially attractive, but who turned out to be undesirable when I danced with them. On the other hand, I've found initially unattractive women to be very attractive after dancing with them. (Of course, like the hot co-instructor mentioned above, some are attractive before and after. :)
I also think that fluidity of motion and bodily vigour* contribute to attraction. Some pretty women just turn out to be really clunky.
There's also the entire class of physically unattractive women who are overwhelmingly attractive overall by dint of their brilliant personalities.
Dating (w/o intimacy) must be supplemented with dancing or something similar so that you can really tell what your date is made of (relative to your preferences). :)
*Why not "vigor"? Midway, I realized that this entry seemed too much like a self-help book from a century or two ago. So I used the English form of the noun.
Self-help books from times past that are largely outdated and therefore comical.
Of course, another interpretation is that I really suck at dancing and she was just trying to help my sorry self. :) (But I'm pretty sure I knew what I was doing, since I've taken West Coast Swing lessons before.)
I'm inclined to believe Dr. K's assertion that we choose mates more so by scent than by looks. (A scent different from one's own can imply genetic difference and therefore a higher chance of reproductive success. By "scent" I mean the natural scent that identifies us uniquely and that dogs can use to find us. Note that other species rely heavily on these personal scents for reproduction and other stuff.) At dance classes over the years, I've encountered many women who were physically beautiful (good bone structure, etc.) from a distance, and therefore initially attractive, but who turned out to be undesirable when I danced with them. On the other hand, I've found initially unattractive women to be very attractive after dancing with them. (Of course, like the hot co-instructor mentioned above, some are attractive before and after. :)
I also think that fluidity of motion and bodily vigour* contribute to attraction. Some pretty women just turn out to be really clunky.
There's also the entire class of physically unattractive women who are overwhelmingly attractive overall by dint of their brilliant personalities.
Dating (w/o intimacy) must be supplemented with dancing or something similar so that you can really tell what your date is made of (relative to your preferences). :)
*Why not "vigor"? Midway, I realized that this entry seemed too much like a self-help book from a century or two ago. So I used the English form of the noun.
Self-help books from times past that are largely outdated and therefore comical.