[Nightrider]

well...given the current divorce rate in the US, looks like it's based a great deal on 'trial and error'...

[tlb]

>>>A 2005 survey of more than 900 people who had been using online dating services revealed that three-quarters had not found what they were looking for.

Maybe it's just me but if 25% are finding what they want that doesn't sound too bad.

[Disturbin]

"We went to the cinema to see V for Vendetta"

Funny, I took a date to see that. Never saw her again.

[gate2wire]

I always thought alcohol was the 'magic formula'?

[dakine]

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

The magic formula...

[Tom Bombadil]

because super-mates are inaccessible to all but a few.

And most of those pairings fail.

[Cruz]

So much for outward appearances. What about the less obvious cues of attraction? Fascinating work on genetics and mate preferences has shown that each of us will be attracted to people who possess a particular set of genes, known as the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), which plays a critical role in the ability to fight pathogens. Mates with dissimilar MHC genes produce healthier offspring with broad immune systems. And the evidence shows that we are inclined to choose people who suit us in this way: couples tend to be less similar in their MHC than if they had been paired randomly.

How do people who differ in their MHC find each other? This isn’t fully understood, but we know that smell is an important cue. People appear to literally sniff out their mates. In studies, people tend to rate the scent of T-shirts worn by others with dissimilar MHC as most attractive. This is what sexual “chemistry” is all about

Good post, I especially find the above interesting.

[Sender]

A lasting relationship is 1/4 chemistry, 1/4 compatibility and the rest is sheer attitude.

[Pete98]

It's easy - be a jerk/thug/drug dealer with a criminal record and women will flock to you.

[rbg81]

I dunno. Assuming no major BO or BB is present, I'm pretty sure smell has little to do with my mating choices. Physical appearance determines the initial attraction (0-1 minute), but then the girl must be mentally stimulating (1 hour - 2 weeks). The last (very) important characteristic is sanity, which can take a while to determine (1 day - 6 months).

[Recovering Hermit]

...and that men and women strongly value intelligence in a mate. Preferences for these qualities — beauty, brains and resources — are universal. The George Clooneys and Angelina Jolies of the world are sex symbols for predictable biological reasons.

Yep...a couple of real rocket scientists.

[RandallFlagg]

Sexual attraction: the magic formula

+

[longtermmemmory]

read for later

[TET1968]

It's about discovery.Revealing oneself a layer at a time.
This takes journey takes time.
The phrase," My love for her/him, grew slowly and not without difficulty"
offers the most probable truism.
Read Pride and Prejudice, I think it offers more insight then the Sniff study.

[drsbb]

Hello, Everyone:

I'm pretty sure that the hand of God fixed my choice. I had dated around quite a bit and my attraction to these various women was doubtless influenced by the factors in this article. But when I met Melanie, I got hit with the thunderbolt and knew instantly that this was the girl I was going to marry. I'd never had an experience like this with any other woman. It occurred when I met her very briefly and unexpectedly during her job interview. Another person introduced us, we spoke for less than a minute and she buzzed on to her next appointment in the interview. I walked into the class I was teaching and told one of my students I'd just met the woman I'm going to marry. Melanie took the job. We began dating in September, I proposed in November, and we got married in January. That was 27 years ago.

She was and is quite a babe, but my response to her was not sexual. It was much more overwhelming, like a born-again experience.

Isn't odd that academic research never seems to ask about this possibility?

[theFIRMbss]

>Sexual attraction: the magic formula