Science Advocacy
Science Advocacy
“Get Tinder, everyone has it!” I hear that from my peers too many times. “All you need to do is sit back, relax, and swipe!”
For those who don’t know: Tinder is a location-based social dating app that has over 50 million users worldwide1 and it works through a simple principle: look at a person’s pictures and swipe right if you’re interested, or swipe left if you’re not. On Tinder, everyone can have virtual autonomy and the opportunity to select their potential dating mates based on their pictures.
As a biologist, the big questions I have are: What do evolutionary and neurobiological theories tell us about the most common parts of the online dating process? Although culture and heritage highly influence the perception of beauty and the visual aspects of attraction, some studies suggest that our preferences may be influenced by evolutionary biology. So, let’s explore the steps from getting a match on Tinder to the actual date, and see what evolutionary and neurobiological theories can tell us about the dating process.
Brian is a young, charming, intelligent professional who graduated from an Ivy League business school. His strong desire to challenge himself and his motivation to succeed have made him the CEO of a small but popular start-up company in San Francisco. However, Brian suffers from general anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders, which have worsened ever since his company took off. After trying a variety of antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs, Brian decides to schedule an appointment with a psychedelic therapist.
“Brian, good to see you! Please come in.” Said Dr. Talbert Doffman, one of the most reputable psychedelic therapists in the state. “I reviewed your file – we have many patients like you. We’ll start you off with psilocybin, a naturally occurring psychedelic compound found in mushrooms.” he added.Continue reading…
While Evan is away on summer holiday, David has been left in charge of the website. The result? Science Memes GALORE! David considers it his civic and scientific duty to prove that scientists do have a sense of humor… it just tends to be largely pun-based.
One of our favorite parodies!
Ridiculous question from the internet: Does looking at a picture of the sun hurt your eyes?
Source of said ridiculous question: Yahoo Answers
Science’s answer: No. Current photographic methods, even the most advanced digital photography, are incapable of capturing the energy emitted by an object and re-transmitting it from a picture. You can stare at a picture of the sun all you’d like. But maybe read a book instead?
