爱情,就是美貌与智慧的比拼？ A Game with Beauty & 1)Intelligence?
美式发音 适合精读
让两人走到一起的因素有很多,除了之前所说的性格外,还有什么因素决定我们在潜意识中早已被那个Ta所深深吸引?根据男女诉求的差异,我们如何提升自己在对方心中的魅力?
It’s a mating ritual as old as humankind itself. But now, scientists are putting the chemistry of lust, love and long-term relationships under the microscope. Powerful evolutionary processes determine what attracts us to a mate and the way we attract others.
自有人类开始就有求偶的定律。然而现在,科学家们正从科学的角度解剖欲望、爱情和长久关系的相互作用。威力强大的生物进程决定我们为异性所吸引的原因以及异性之间相互吸引的方式。
Recalling Is Women’s Nature 回忆,是女人的天性
They find that men react differently to women. Men are turned on visually, while women are more interested in character.
Dr. Helen Fisher: Among our male subjects we found more activity in a brain region associated with the2)integration of visual 3)stimuli, and in our female subjects we found more activity in brain regions associated with memory recall.
For men, visual arousal stimuli are vitally important and activate the brain more than they do for women.
Dr. Fisher: Women do like to look, but men like to look more, and I think this is for a very profoundly powerful 4)Darwinian reason.
But, hey, looks aren’t everything, and women, more than men, seek out other assets. For women, she seeks the more 5)intangible characteristics such as reliability, loyalty, kindness. The women in love have more blood racing through a part of the brain called the 6)hippocampus, an area associated with the processing of memory.
But what has memory got to do with sexual attraction and a woman’s love life? Fisher suggests that women are particularly interested in the man’s character and that they build up a memory map of their behavior in order to determine if they will be a suitable mate and father to their children.
Dr. Fisher: She needed to remember what he did last Valentine’s Day, what he promised last Christmas, what he didn’t do last summer. She needed to remember to see if he was gonna be a good husband and good father.
And for that, memory is vitally important.
他们发现男性的反应跟女性很不一样。男性容易被视觉所刺激,而女性则对性格更感兴趣。
海伦·费希尔博士:在我们的男性研究项目中,我们发现脑部活动比较活跃的那部分是跟视觉刺激有关的;而在女性研究项目中,则发现与记忆相关的脑部区域活动更活跃。
视觉冲击对于男性来说尤其重要,它对脑部的激活比女性的反应来得强烈。
费希尔博士:女人的确喜欢眼观,但男人更甚之。我想其原因植根于强而有力的达尔文理论。
但是,外貌并非一切。与男性相比,女性多会期盼对方的其他优点。女性所追求的更多的是无形的特质,例如可靠性、忠诚度和好心肠等性格特征。人体脑部中有一部分是跟记忆处理相关的,叫海马状突起,坠入爱河中的女人这部分的血液流量特别旺盛。
然而记忆跟异性吸引度和女性的爱情生活又有着怎样的关系呢?费希尔表示,由于女性对男性的性格特别感兴趣,因此她们会记住对方的行为举动,从而判断他是否是一位合适的伴侣和称职的父亲。
费希尔博士:她得记住上一个情人节他干了什么,上一个圣诞节他答应了什么,还有上一个夏天他没有完成什么。她得记住这些事情以便观察他会否是一个好老公、好父亲。
由此看来,记忆是至关重要的因素。
Intelligence Is the Second Choice 聪明,并非最受欢迎
Hundreds of thousands of years ago, humans started selecting partners who were more intelligent. As a result, intelligence began to grow in our species.
Geoffrey Miller(Asst Prof): We don’t just grow brain for survival. We grow brain to attract other brains as mates.
The evidence that our brain evolved by sexual selection comes from something biologists call “the 7)Handicap Principle.” The peacock’s tail is the classic example. Such a large, colourful tail takes energy to grow—resources that could otherwise be put to survival. It’s a handicap, and so only birds with the best genes can carry the biggest, most glamorous tails. Like a peacock’s tail, a bigger brain carries a handicap because it uses a 8)disproportionate amount of the body’s energy.
Miller: And often we’re using it for things that aren’t that directly related to survival: we’re talking, we’re trying to achieve status, we’re trying to impress people.
But it’s not just intelligence that seems to attract us.
Miller: … top two traits most desired across cultures are intelligence and kindness. In fact kindness even comes out a little bit higher than intelligence.
Being kind has obvious attractions. A kind person will make a good partner and will probably be a caring parent.
But there’s a more scientific reason for choosing someone with moral virtue; it’s an 9)indicator of good genes.
Miller: Moral virtue is costly, it’s difficult. Almost anything that messes up your body or your brain—10)mutations, brain damage, brain injury—tends to make people more selfish and less kind.
What’s more, unlike 11)physical appearance, this type of attractiveness is harder to fake.
Miller: It’s fairly easy to get your body looking pretty good. A 40 year-old now can look as youthful and healthy as a 22 year-old a century ago. To some extent it’s harder to fake the intelligence and moral virtues like kindness that are sexually attractive. That’s what’s fascinating about the way that we 12)evaluate potential mates is, we just automatically focus on the unfakable indicators of intelligence and kindness.
千百年前,人类就已经开始选择聪颖者为伴侣。结果,我们人类便开始越来越聪明。
杰弗里·米勒(助理教授):我们大脑的进化不单只为了生存,还为了吸引伴侣。
雌雄淘汰促使我们的脑袋进化,支持这一理论的证据源自某些生物学家所说的“不利条件原理”。孔雀尾巴就是典型的例子。要长出如此硕丽的尾巴肯定要耗费一定的能量,而这些能量原可以更好地被用作生存之本。这就是不利条件。所以只有那些拥有最优秀基因的孔雀能长出最大最美的尾巴。就如孔雀尾巴一样,人若拥有一个较大的脑袋这也是一种不利条件,因为那需要更多的与之不相称的身体能量。
米勒:我们常常运用脑力以获取与生存没有直接联系的东西:我们侃侃而谈,我们想获得身份地位,我们想给别人留下好印象。
但是,吸引我们的可不只是才智。
米勒:……不同文化种族的人类最渴望的两种性格特征是才智和善良。实际上,善良比才智地位更高一点。
为人善良更具魅力。一个有亲和力的人会是一位体贴的伴侣,而且很可能是一位关怀备至的家长。
然而从科学的角度看,选择品德优秀的人还有一个原因:那是优良遗传基因的标示。
米勒:品德优秀,难能可贵。几乎任何对人体或大脑造成损害的因素——基因突变,脑部损伤——都容易使人们变得更自私,不那么友善。
除此以外,与外貌所不同的是,这种吸引力很难作假。
米勒:让你的身材出众是件相当容易的事。现在40岁的人也能让自己看上去像一个世纪前22岁的年轻人般有活力。在一定程度上,别具感性魅力的才智和品德,例如善良,则比较难伪装。这就是我们在评价潜在伴侣时的奇妙之处,我们毫无意识地就选择了才智和善良这两个无法伪装的吸引力指示标。
翻译:小敏
1)intelligence [In5telIdVEns] n. 智力, 聪明
2)integration [7IntI5^reIFEn] n. 结合
3)stimulus [5stImjJlEs] n. (pl. -li [-laI]) 刺激
4)Darwinian [dB:5wInIEn] a. 达尔文的
5)intangible [In5tAndVEbl] a. 触摸不到的; 无形的
6)hippocampus [7hIpE5kAmpEs] n. [解]（脑内的）海马状突起；[动]海马
7)handicap [5hAndIkAp] n. 障碍
8)disproportionate [7dIsprE5pC:FEnIt] a. 不相称的
9)indicator [5IndIkeItE] n. 指示
10)mutation [mjJ5teIFEn] n. 基因突变
11)physical appearance 物理性质
12)evaluate [I5vAljJeIt] v. 评价