Day: August 6, 2024

Throughout history, philosophers and poets have tackled the elusive question of what love really is. And despite being a topic of much debate, researchers can now give us some insight into what happens inside the brain when you fall in love. It turns out that when you love someone, key areas of your brain light up with dopamine and the feel-good hormone oxytocin. But that doesn’t mean that you’ll always be feeling mushy-gushy and overly sentimental. In fact, there will probably be days or even weeks when you don’t feel all that in love with your partner. And that’s totally okay.

Regardless of your relationship status, everyone feels a tinge of longing for love at some point in their lives. It could be a desire for companionship or the sense of closeness that comes from being with “the one.” For some, it might be the feeling that you’re home, safe and understood by your partner. And for others, it might be the feeling of transcendence that comes from a spiritual or religious connection with another person.

Whatever the case, a strong desire for love is part of what makes humans so interesting. In the past, philosophers and psychologists have categorized love into various elements and emotions. However, a common view is that love involves lust, attraction, and attachment. While many people define love as an emotion, some scientists have argued that it’s not a primary one. Instead, they say that it’s a complex sensation derived from other feelings like empathy and attachment.

What’s more, some experts have found that our ideas of what constitutes love change over time. Some people may have more polarized views on the matter than others, based on how they were raised or their own experiences. Nevertheless, there is a general consensus that the human experience of love can be quite complicated and varied.

While the precise causes of love may differ from person to person, all humans need to feel closeness and emotional fulfilment in order to thrive. So how do we navigate the difficult dance between desire, vulnerability, and companionship? We’re going to take a look at some of the most influential theories on what love is and how it works.

Infatuation

This type of love is characterized by intense physical and emotional attractions, a need for sex, a quick development of romantic feelings, and a lack of commitment. It’s also often accompanied by jealousy and insecurity.

Storge

This is a mature form of love that emphasizes shared interests, affection and security. It’s also less narcissistic and focused on self-fulfillment than infatuation. People in storge love tend to be more satisfied with their relationships and are more likely to commit to them.

Bhakti

This type of love is rooted in devotion to the divine. It can be seen in the Hindu texts Bhagavad Purana and works by Tulsidas. In the past, scholars have described it as a combination of kama and prema: “loving devotion to God” and “elevated love.” This kind of love is also known as bhakti.

In a game of domino, each player plays a tile so that it touches one end of a line of already-played tiles. The line can be a long, continuous row, or it may be a series of angular or circular patterns. Each domino is marked on both sides with a value from one to six dots (or spots). The value of a particular end of a line is called its rank or weight. The highest rank or weight wins the game. A domino with a higher value is also considered more “heavy” than a lower rank or a blank domino.

The most basic domino set consists of 28 tiles and is known as a double-six set. These tiles are shuffled and then each player draws seven. A player must draw a domino that is legal for the current game. Once a player has drawn his or her seven tiles, that player makes the first play by placing a domino in the line of play. The next player must then play a tile so that it touches one of the ends of the previous domino. This creates a chain that gradually increases in length.

As players continue to play their tiles, they build a line that is called the line of play or string. The open end of the last domino played must be facing up in order to prevent the tiles from falling off the table. The line of play can be joined either with the dominoes in a row, lengthwise, or across them, crosswise, so that they match.

Dominoes can be stacked in various ways to make structures such as towers, pyramids, and castles. Often, these structures are built for entertainment purposes such as domino shows, where builders compete to create the most spectacular domino effect or reaction before an audience of fans.

Thousands of dominoes can be carefully set up and positioned to tip over in a precisely controlled sequence. They are usually made from a plastic-based material, such as polymer clay or polystyrene foam. Some sets of dominoes, however, are traditional: they are made from bone or silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother of pearl), ivory, or a dark wood such as ebony, with contrasting black or white pips. These are usually much heavier and more expensive than the sets made from polymer materials.

The fact that dominoes stand upright, resisting motion until a small nudge causes them to fall over, is analogous to the way that certain types of narratives work. When a storyline is outlined, it’s important to think of each plot beat as a domino that needs to be tipped over, one after the other.

When a domino is tipped over, it releases the potential energy stored within it to push on the next domino. Similarly, every plot beat in a novel has the potential to cause a domino effect—to tip over other characters and events, and to change the course of a storyline.