Over the past few decades, numerous match-making websites have appeared on the internet and several are heavily advertised on radio and television. All promise to locate your soul-mate by using personal profiles based on photos, backgrounds, interests and goals; religious sites even enlist God to arrive at the perfect match.
But I suspect that such data, focused on compatibility, has little to do with love. Rather, romantic love seems to arise from a complex mix of physical, emotional, psychological and biochemical signals, encoded in our genes and designed to perpetuate our species. Any success claimed by the match-makers can likely be attributed to their role in breaking down social barriers, not to their secret formulas.
Of course, love itself does not always lead to personal happiness and fulfillment, especially when it is unrequited; even when it is mutual, other life circumstances may preclude love's full expression and development. Compatibility sustains relationships (once established) but love itself offers no such guarantee.
But I suspect that such data, focused on compatibility, has little to do with love. Rather, romantic love seems to arise from a complex mix of physical, emotional, psychological and biochemical signals, encoded in our genes and designed to perpetuate our species. Any success claimed by the match-makers can likely be attributed to their role in breaking down social barriers, not to their secret formulas.
Of course, love itself does not always lead to personal happiness and fulfillment, especially when it is unrequited; even when it is mutual, other life circumstances may preclude love's full expression and development. Compatibility sustains relationships (once established) but love itself offers no such guarantee.
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