What makes us attracted to someone else? If you ask me, I’d say I’m attracted to guys who are introverted but intelligent. I’d say I like boys with blond hair and blue eyes. I’d also say I like them tall, but not too tall. Yet there have been many circumstances where I have been blindingly attracted to every aesthetic-personality combo out there! Although aesthetics and personality contribute to the equation in big ways, the one biggest, most important factor is often overlooked. Chemistry!
Now, I am not a chemistry major. But from my days as a budding youth in the chemistry labs of high school, I walked away with one enlightening conclusion: Certain chemicals, when combined, have grand reactions, while others just lie flat. For example, baking soda and vinegar, when put together, make a volcano erupt. However, when oil and water are combined they repel each other. Although our chemical make-up is a bit more complex than that of refrigerator condiments, the general idea is the same. The biological make-up of our bodies is comprised of chemicals and chemical signals. Some of these chemical reactions make volcanoes erupt, while others repel each other.
Although you might not notice, the smell of someone else (sometimes caused by chemicals called pheromones) can actually turn us on and make us feel we have an intuitive connection with someone, even a complete stranger. The connection and attraction can be really intense. Even smelling someone’s skin or hair or shirt can trigger a sexual reaction in us.
I don’t mean to undermine the romantic view of the “power of connection” by pointing to scientific research that breaks down attraction, but take a minute to think just how incredible it is. We often attribute compatibility to personality characteristics or apply pop psychology methods. But the biggest determinant of our attraction to someone truly lies within ourselves. Our essence, our energy — the chemicals that make up our being — can detect who we are attracted to.
Chemistry is some powerful shit man!
