Love Boosts Creativity, Lust Improves Logic: Study

(NEWSER) - Romantic love is more enduring than previously thought, says a new study in the Review of General Psychology. Researchers surveyed more than 6,000 people, some newly coupled, some married for decades, and found that 13% still reported high levels of romance. That may not sound like much, but it was still surprisingly high, researchers say. Until now, it’s been assumed that romance inevitably subsides over time. More»

Research suggests if you don't swoon first time, opera may not be for you

(NEWSER) - The passion that opera fans feel for the art form is more akin to love at first sight than a slow-growing desire, Reuters reports. A sociologist focused on fans in the cheap seats who hadn't been brought up on opera, and found they tended to have an intense, explosive attraction to the opera the first time they went—with the learning process coming later. More»

Also, she is 97, and he is 85

(NEWSER) - A nice tale for Valentine's Day courtesy of the Charlotte Observer : Larry Bushnell, 85, will marry Columba Rosaly, 97, this weekend, and the wedding is unusual not just because of their ages: Turns out they don't speak the same language. Rosaly is from Ecuador and speaks only Spanish, and Bushnell speaks only English. More»

'Supermarkets of love' no better than bars for meeting people: Study

(NEWSER) - Online dating could help you find your perfect match—but your chances aren't any better than they'd be at a bar, a study suggests. You can't tell much about the people listed on sites like Match.com. Browsing such lists "overloads people and they end up shutting down," the psychology professor behind the study tells Reuters . It amounts to shopping at "supermarkets of love": When you have too many choices, you make bad decisions. More»

Stressful routine hurts our creativity

(NEWSER) - An alarm clock jolting you awake, a frenetic rush through shower and commute, and maybe a scant few minutes to glance over depressing headlines: Pretty much every part of your morning routine is dooming your chance to do any sort of creative thinking. Recent studies show, for instance, that we are at our most creative when we're sleepy and not as focused—like when we first wake up, or before we fall asleep—so we should take advantage of that time.The stress of a commute and the sadness of reading the news also inhibit our problem-solving capabilities. More»