The Science of Sexy
While we like to think there is something mysterious, spontaneous and almost magical about love and attraction, some researchers believe it all comes down to mathematical equations and basic biology. In other words, sexy is a "science."

Bring in the Clones.
David Perrett, a Scottish psychologist, believes that what people truly find attractive is a mate who looks like their parents. In one experiment, Perrett morphed photos of students' faces into the opposite sex, and then asked them to choose the face they were most attracted to. Of all of the photos offered, the students nearly always preferred their own (although unrecognizable) face. Perrett claims we find our own faces attractive because they remind us of our parents, the faces we saw most in childhood.
Or maybe, we're just looking to clone ourselves. Ever notice how married couples start to look like each other? Some researchers have found a correlation in couples between their middle finger lengths, ear size and earlobe lengths, metabolic rates, and wrist and neck circumferences.
When it comes to preferences for the opposite sex, men and women have similar but different preferences. Men rank attractiveness first, followed by commitment and social skills, whereas women rank commitment first, followed by social skills and resources. We're basically still driven by basic evolution - men want good genes to pass along to their offspring when searching for a mate (found in attractiveness) and women want good providers who will stick around to help raise the kids (found in commitment and resources.)
Do the math
A woman's attractiveness to men has traditionally peaked in her twenties -- as she ages her fertility declines and she tends to put on weight around the middle. For men, attractiveness is more closely tied to rank and status - which means younger men sometimes lack the appeal of their older, more successful counterparts.
Whatever our overall weight, studies have shown men prefer an overall waist-to-hip ratio of .7 (your waist measurement divided by your hip measurement equals your waist ratio.) This formula is actually so on-target that although both Playboy centerfolds and Miss America winners from 1923-1990 have gotten measurably skinnier over the years, their waist-hip ratios have stayed within the narrow range of .68-.72. And, it's the reason that although Marilyn Monroe or Raquel Welch could hardly squeeze their curvy, fabulous selves into Julia Roberts' itty bitty miniskirts, all three of them have timeless, universal appeal. (Good news for curvy girls!).
As far as beauty is concerned, the magic numbers are apparently 1.618 to 1. Called "the golden ratio," it has been associated with beauty for thousands of years, and used by world-renowned artists such as Leonardo Da Vinci to create the perfect form. Former plastic surgeon Dr. Stephen Marquardt, has used the golden ratio to create a "mask" precisely aligned with the various features of the human face that he says is "the most beautiful shape a human face can have."
In fact, Marquardt's mask fits the faces many famous beauties across a multitude of cultures, from Cleopatra to Greta Garbo to Marilyn Monroe.
Why? Research indicates that as humans, we (and men in particular) are most attracted to people with symmetrical faces. Some experts believe that this may be because asymmetrical features could be a sign of underlying genetic problems, and by seeking out the best possible genetic candidate, we're ensuring the survival of our offspring.
Apparently, you can fool Mother Nature.
Professor Doug Kenrick of Arizona State University, (which interestingly enough once claimed the most attractive student population in America) said in a recent BBC report that he thought men might be confused by the benefits of modern health and beauty products. According to Kenrick, "my suspicion is that we respond to visual cues of attractiveness, not what you see on someone's birth certificate. Liz Hurley, for example, looks attractive because she's got all those cues despite her age."
Kenrick adds, "In evolutionary history, by the time a woman got to be 45, she'd have had five children and various parasites. She wouldn't have looked like one of those Hollywood actresses."
The good news for those looking for romance who are either on the flipside of their evolutionary peak, or feel they've been shortchanged in the genetics department, is that you're not necessarily stuck with the lot you're born with. A little help from Cover Girl (or a lot of help, from your friendly neighbourhood plastic surgeon) can make your features more symmetrical. You can pad your sports coat or your bra, or just spend a couple hours at the gym to pump up the volume. You grow your hair long enough to cover your ears. And, thanks to the magic of Lycra, perhaps, humankind's greatest creation, you can tourniquet yourself down to that desirable .7 ratio.
Or, better still, you can just be you. And know that out there somewhere is your perfect match. Mother Nature practically guarantees it.

 

who is a friend? there are so many things that we expect a friend to be - loyal, devoted, trustworthy, dependable, to be there in times of trouble, in time of ease, in time of sorrow, in times of joy...

Is this what real friends are meant to be?
Through the passage of life, we meet many people. Most, sadly, come into our lives and leaves quickly. Alas, there are but few, who enter, and leave a footprint in our hearts and remain forever.
Through history, philosophers and poets have defined friends in so many ways.
A friend is someone who is there when others walk out.
A friend is one who knows all about you, and still likes you.
A friend is one who believes in you when you have ceased to believe in yourself.
A friend is one who knows more about you than yourself and still loves you.
A friend's hand is always there... you just haveto reach for it.
A friend is like a wall. Sometimes you lean on the wall and sometimes, it is just enough to know it's there.
We expect all that of friends, but how many friends do we really have?
The kind who do not walk in and out but who remain constant, and are there whenever you need them.

" My father used to say that when you die. if you've got five real friends, you've had a great life." Former Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca once said what many of us believes to be true.

Wise words. Because there are many who claim to be friends and many whom we call friends. But if you can list the qualities most important to you in a friend, you will find, like Iacocca's father said, that you would be lucky if you could count 5 real friends...

"We always thougt we'd look back on our tears and laugh, but we never thought we'd look back on our laughter and cry"

I find it useful... thanks KMH.