Comments on: Romantic advice from scientists

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Which came first? This Cracked list is more or less the same:
http://www.cracked.com/article_19024_6-factors-that-secretly-influence-who-you-have-sex-with.html

By: Mantissa128

Mantissa128 — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

This. They didn’t rule out confounding factors very well, did they?

And ha – it’s the Capilano Suspension Bridge. Why wouldn’t you take it?

Ladies, please, one at a time.

By: Nelson.C

Nelson.C — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Sure it works for guys, why do you think horror movies are popular with dating teens?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I don’t suppose it occurred to anyone that these men who crossed the higher, less stable bridge had higher levels of testosterone from the endeavor, huh?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Really? I, of course, hold Cracked in higher regard that any academic paper.

By: Ryanwoofs

Ryanwoofs — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I wonder how much of that behavior after crossing the bridge was along the lines of “hell, I just tempted fate crossing that bridge, why not make a day of it?”

By: gastronaut

gastronaut — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I’m pretty sure that tip doesn’t work for the guys as well- but that never stopped us from trying it. I suppose I’ve been guilty of that myself, although this girl’s boyfriend gets bonus points: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mouMMOraPyw

By: SamSam

SamSam — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

… or maybe they were thinking, “hell, I just did something really brave! Maybe that girl will think I’m brave and sexy!”

Normally I hate it when we in the peanut gallery instinctively second-guess researchers conclusions, but that conclusion seemed like a much bigger, and unwarranted, leap of faith.

If the woman with the questionnaire had been the one to scare the man (jumping out and shouting boo?), would the results have been the same?

By: Jason Goldman

Jason Goldman — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

My piece was filed with the Guardian on Friday evening.

By: semiotix

semiotix — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Filling out a survey is rather different from making out in a dark corner.

You’ve obviously never taken one of my famous surveys. And since those uptight prudes in the sociology department denied me tenure, I guess you never will.

By: aelfscine

aelfscine — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

That was exactly my thought. If asking someone out makes you nervous, and you just did something far more nerve-wracking, talking to the girl won’t seem so imposing. I’m not so sure it’s a ‘rush of sexual endorphins’ as much as just a lowering of inhibitions due to succeeding a tough task.

By: Coherent

Coherent — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

The fear factor has an anecdotal analogue! It well known that exposure to combat causes large increases in libido in both men and women. Apparently when death is near, there’s a powerful urge to get busy. So the rickety bridge story makes a lot of sense… It would seem likely that this is the same mechanism as post-combat lust.

By: jordan

jordan — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Well, I’ve always said that Valentine’s Day would be better if it were more like Halloween. Perhaps this is Step 1.

By: Calimecita

Calimecita — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

These reports are entertaining, but the *comments* section in The Guardian’s site are priceless! Thanks for the laughs – I’m so glad I’m not currently in need of any of these methods!

By: Jason Goldman

Jason Goldman — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

@SamSam (#3): This experiment was of course just one of a set of experiments in the paper that I linked. Taken together, the experiments provide support for the conclusion. If you’d like a copy of it to read for yourself, email me (you can grab my email from my blog) and I’ll happily send it along.