links 2/14/08
Feb 14th, 2008 by jeremy
- New York Times article on marriage, “Using laboratory studies, real-world experiments and even brain-scan data, scientists can now offer long-married couples a simple prescription for rekindling the romantic love that brought them together in the first place. The solution? Reinventing date night.”
- Lincolns birthday was a few days ago, why not celebrate by reading some of his work. The Gettysburg address, the First Inauguration, the Second Inauguration and the Emancipation Proclamation. Thanks to Times and Seasons for the links
- Psycho-inspired bathroom.
- 10 mistakes in icon design
- Food porn of the day, strawberry chocolate tart
- Models show Lake Mead could be bone dry by 2021
- The cultural importance of Barack Obama and inter-racial love.
- Happy Valentines day Tetris style
- Indiana Jones 4 trailer
Oops, somebody told me you need a login for that NYT article, if you don’t want to login, here’s the most interesting part.
“Most studies of love and marriage show that the decline of romantic love over time is inevitable. The butterflies of early romance quickly flutter away and are replaced by familiar, predictable feelings of long-term attachment.
But several experiments show that novelty — simply doing new things together as a couple — may help bring the butterflies back, recreating the chemical surges of early courtship.”
. . .
“Dr. Aron cautions that novelty alone is probably not enough to save a marriage in crisis. But for couples who have a reasonably good but slightly dull relationship, novelty may help reignite old sparks.
And recent brain-scan studies show that romantic love really can last years into a marriage. Last week, at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology conference in Albuquerque, researchers presented brain-scan data on several men and women who had been married for 10 or more years. Interviews and questionnaires suggested they were still intensely in love with their partners. Brain scans confirmed it, showing increased brain activity associated with romantic love when the subjects saw pictures of their spouses.
It’s not clear why some couples are able to maintain romantic intensity even after years together. But the scientists believe regular injections of novelty and excitement most likely play a role.”