Guest Thinkers — February 12, 2011

The Love Hormone’s Dark Side

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, love is in the air. Or is it oxytocin? Research suggests that the so-called “love hormone” isn’t all roses and heart-shaped chocolates.

bigthinkeditor

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Oxytocin is marketed as an all-purpose “love drug” year-round. Online, sellers shill a product called “liquid trust” that purports to contain oxytocin and promises to create an “environment within which you are more attractive to people you previously had no luck with.” In San Antonio, Texas, at least one doctor prescribes dissolvable oxytocin strips for husbands and wives going through rough patches, according to a Feb. 10 news report by local news station KENS5. Even cultural and political commentators have touted oxytocin’s effects, arguing that the hormone makes no-strings-attached sex impossible, especially for women.

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Multiple country flags on poles against a clear blue sky, representing international diversity and unity.

The Present

From global to planetary: Is new governance needed in a post-Holocene world?

The nation-state had a good run, but its usefulness may have come to an end.

Portrait of a smiling man in front of a background featuring chemical structures and molecular models in green and blue hues.

The Present

Inside the battle for FDA approval of MDMA therapy

MAPS founder Rick Doblin speaks to Big Think about the FDA’s rejection of MDMA therapy and the future of psychedelic treatments.

Fifteen colorful emoji faces on a textured background, each capturing different moods like joy, anger, sadness, and surprise.

Business

Heidegger’s “mood theory” explains why you do anything at all

You’re a moody person. You have to be — because understanding moods philosophically can be crucial to your work-life.

A bear attempting to catch a jumping fish near a waterfall.

Nature’s “perfect balance” is a mystery scientists are trying to decode

“While society’s been humming along and enjoying all these advances in agriculture and medicine, in the last 50 or 60 years, ecologists have learned a lot about how nature works. I’ve codified these into a set of rules called the ‘Serengeti Rules.’”

Starts With A Bang

Ask Ethan: Could SETI detect a “twin” of Earth?

Earth is actively broadcasting and actively searching for intelligent civilizations. But could our technology even detect ourselves?

Up Next

Technology & Innovation

Is American Business Corrupt?

While an actual level of shady and dishonest practices is probably impossible to measure, the U.S. has slipped from 19 to 22 in the latest ranking of perceived public corruption.