Love Is Blind
Most of us think of dating as an affair of the heart. But the real activity is in our heads.
Dr. Helen Fisher is an expert on the science of human attraction. And she says that meeting someone new increases activity in the part of the brain responsible for evaluating choices and minimizing mistakes. So, our brain automatically measures the new person against our list of likes and dislikes.
If they pass muster, our brain releases the pleasure chemical, dopamine, which lights up the areas of the brain associated with craving, addiction, and motivation. So we start pursuing this person, like a dog after a bone.
Sill, there’s a scientific reason they say “love is blind.” Frances Cohen Praver is the author of The New Science of Love. And she says that when we’re attracted to someone, changes occur in our body chemistry which turn off the parts of our brain that help us tell when someone’s being genuine - and when they aren’t.
That’s why it’s important to listen to friends and family when they weigh in on whether someone’s right for us, because our brain can’t actually tell. And that’s why they say, love is blind.
