Comments on: Anti-Love Drug May Be Ticket to Bliss

Anti-Love Drug May Be Ticket to Bliss

badego — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 11:59:17 -0800

"It would be completely unethical to give the drug to someone else," he said, "but if you're in a marriage and want to maintain that relationship, you might take a little booster shot yourself every now and then. Even now it's not such a far-out possibility that you could use drugs in conjunction with marital therapy."

By: The Whelk

The Whelk — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:04:13 -0800

We already have love and hate potions. They're called cocktails.

By: exogenous

exogenous — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:06:33 -0800

That was not about the marital aid drug I expected.

By: logicpunk

logicpunk — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:08:57 -0800

arsenic is my anti-love drug.

By: DU

DU — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:10:29 -0800

...sexual foreplay and intercourse stimulate the same parts of a woman's body that are involved in giving birth and nursing. /scribbles down notes This is great stuff!

By: jonmc

jonmc — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:12:59 -0800

...sexual foreplay and intercourse stimulate the same parts of a woman's body that are involved in giving birth and nursing. in men it stimulates the same part of the body involved in peeing. The universe has a sense of humor.

By: griphus

griphus — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:14:24 -0800

"Wow, awesome tattoo, where'd you get the idea?" "NY Times Science section..."

By: burnmp3s

burnmp3s — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:14:54 -0800

Love was a problem for our ancestors; It's not such a problem anymore. Breeding as a science proved it has no use at all And it mostly disappeared when we eliminated war. There's comfort and control. It's safe for you and me. News for the surface shows how hard life there can be. Why live in danger? Why live with pain? People from the surface find it hard to explain.

By: stavrogin

stavrogin — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:16:32 -0800

But, love is my anti-drug!

By: KirkJobSluder

KirkJobSluder — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:18:32 -0800

Is it just me, or does this NYT piece sound a bit too much like Maxim?

By: Sailormom

Sailormom — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:19:01 -0800

In a jungle of the senses Tinkerbell and Jack the ripper Love has no meaning, not where they come from But we know pleasure is not that simple Very little fruit is forbidden Sometimes we wobble, sometimes we're strong But you know evil is an exact science Being carefully correctly wrong

By: shmegegge

shmegegge — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:19:37 -0800

Hi! I'm a journalist! I interviewed a scientist who had proposed the possibility of creating a veritable Love Potion, a drug that could cause you to experience feelings of love for your partner. Instead of writing about that, though, I immediately decided that I was more interested in fabricating a story about the possibility of an Anti-Love potion, which the scientist begrudgingly agreed might be possible. That was enough for me to completely ignore the entire point of his research and instead engage in pointless speculation! Journalism is fun!

By: Durn Bronzefist

Durn Bronzefist — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:19:45 -0800

I doubt many people would want to permanently suppress love, but a temporary vaccine could come in handy. Spouses going through midlife crises would not be so quick to elope with their personal trainers; elderly widowers might consult their lawyers before marrying someone resembling Anna Nicole Smith. Obviously tongue-in-cheek, but the unspoken assumption here seems to be that, since the drug wouldn't render a person immune from building emotional bonds with a particular person, either an emotional bond to your current, long-term partner is unnecessary or by that point absent.

By: Durn Bronzefist

Durn Bronzefist — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:20:21 -0800

Yeah, or what shmegegge said.

By: six-or-six-thirty

six-or-six-thirty — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:22:51 -0800

This is what humans have sought ever since Odysseus ordered his crew to tie him to the mast while sailing past the Sirens. It... it is?

By: kisch mokusch

kisch mokusch — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:26:54 -0800

There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesale returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact. Mark Twain, 1883

By: It's Raining Florence Henderson

It's Raining Florence Henderson — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:31:14 -0800

If only I were blessed with love immunity I could fuck the whole world with guilt impunity

By: DevilsAdvocate

DevilsAdvocate — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:34:23 -0800

That was enough for me to completely ignore the entire point of his research and instead engage in pointless speculation! The journalist especially seems to have missed the point that the oxytocin blocker, when given to voles, does not appear to reduce their desire for sex; it only inhibits their natural monogamy. If humans respond in the same way, "spouses going through midlife crises" would be more prone to cheat while on the drug. That they would be unlikely to form a long-term bond with their newfound partner seems of little consolation to me.

By: clavicle

clavicle — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:36:27 -0800

I hate you, science journalism.

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:38:08 -0800

Sex without love? That's like ice cream without embedded diamond chips upon which to split your lips and break your teeth.

By: Greg Nog

Greg Nog — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:38:17 -0800

Well, back in my day, when a woman wanted to give a man an "anti-love" potion, she just peed on him. Ayuh, just let loose a yellow torrent of anti-love, or as we called it back then, "Jaundice Betty". You kids think your modern chemistry is a match for that? Nope, ol' Jaundice Betty, she caused more breakups than a grizzly bear on a pile of Fabergé eggs. Sweet Jaundice Betty. Yep. Didn't work all the time, though, no sir. About one in every five hundred men experienced the opposite effect. Not anti-love, but full-on Superlove. Or as we called it, "Jack Hummingbird's Curse." It was a rare man who was affected that way, but the stories say that such a man lived in this very town. Got a taste of Jaundice Betty, and the next thing you know, his heart was a-fluttering like a moth in a bell jar. You kids ever read the Bell Jar? Sylvia Plath, kids. So this man, he feels the touch of the Betty, and he straightaway gathers a dozen roses, surrounds them with baby's breath (for presentation, y'see), and gets down on one quivering knee. The man expresses his undying devotion to the Jaundicer standing before him, and well -- if you can believe it -- he marries that woman. Anyway, kids, the story doesn't end there. Because that one man? That one man who felt the Curse of ol' Jack Hummingbird at the first drop of Jaundice Betty? That man.... Well, that was your grandfather. Sure, this ol' yarn may not be as exciting as your modern-day "scientifical" marvels in your "Grey Lady" newsprint, but it's the truth, all right, swear on a three-toed raccoon paw. And that's what I like to call... The Tale Of Your Grandfather Who Got Peed On.

By: orthogonality

orthogonality — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:39:25 -0800

"Love", as John Le Carre observed, "is whatever you can still betray. Betrayal can only happen if you love." shmegegge writes "Journalism is fun!" Well, yes, but we've all seen the vole studies and the reports on oxytocin many times before, so....

By: mandal

mandal — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:51:04 -0800

Showing out, showing out, hit and run Boy meets girl where beat goes on Stitched up tight, can´t shake free Love is the drug, got a hook on me Oh oh catch that buzz Love is the drug I´m thinking of Ah, sweet chemical cascade, they name is love: Dr. Young predicts that it won't be long before an unscrupulous suitor could sneak a pharmaceutical love potion into your drink. He's invented E?

By: mullingitover

mullingitover — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:54:21 -0800

Amazing that they managed not to mention MDMA once in this article.

By: sfts2

sfts2 — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 13:26:03 -0800

People share with mice, a "propensity for monogamy". Who else laughed?

By: GuyZero

GuyZero — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 13:29:58 -0800

Somebody get Roxy Music on the case!

By: aeschenkarnos

aeschenkarnos — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 13:32:32 -0800

DevilsAdvocate If humans respond in the same way, "spouses going through midlife crises" would be more prone to cheat while on the drug. Yes, but the reasoning goes that the spouse being cheated on wouldn't care.

By: rmless

rmless — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 13:33:28 -0800

But if someone takes the love drug and their partner takes the anti-love drug, you end up with a total Pepe Le Pew situation on your hands.

By: nebulawindphone

nebulawindphone — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 13:37:56 -0800

People share with mice, a "propensity for monogamy". I don't share a propensity for monogamy with mice. After you've made it run through the little maze a couple times, you may as well move on, amirite?

By: Senator

Senator — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:06:39 -0800

Grandad said it was simple, "If you got the cash, you will get the ass. If you don't, you won't."

By: thivaia

thivaia — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:52:22 -0800

Today I met somebody That I can talk to. Today I met somebody I can make love with, not to. She says love will get you Through times of no sex Better than sex will get you Through times of no love. We wrote that on the wall, We wrote that on the wall, We wrote that on the wall, And why don't you Write that on your wall, too.

By: BrotherCaine

BrotherCaine — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:55:44 -0800

It seems like we are closer and closer to completely mapping the chemistry of the brain. While there are awesome therapeutic possibilities, I wonder whether a multi-millenial global mind-control dictatorship is also in the wings.

By: The Whelk

The Whelk — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:22:35 -0800

I wonder whether a multi-millenial global mind-control dictatorship is also in the wings. Sure the nerve-stapling is bad but, you'll get a free Defense Perimeter with every base to help protect against the mind worms.

By: DU

DU — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:42:11 -0800

Well, back in my day, when a woman wanted to give a man an "anti-love" potion, she just peed on him. Ah, to be old-timey and innocent again.

By: BrotherCaine

BrotherCaine — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 18:02:43 -0800

I probably should have said "in the offing" rather than "in the wings" to seem the tiniest bit less like a member of the tinfoil-hat set.

By: gottabefunky

gottabefunky — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 18:35:51 -0800

"The kiss originated when the first male reptile licked the first female reptile, implying in a subtle, complimentary way that she was as succulent as the small reptile he had for dinner the night before." --F. Scott Fitzgerald

By: gottabefunky

gottabefunky — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 18:36:16 -0800

So if it was the opposite of Ecstasy, would they call it Agony?

By: Caduceus

Caduceus — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:26:57 -0800

What a stupid fucking article. John Tierney, you've made my list, asshole. Also, Tristan and Isolde was a fucking opera. By Wagner. It's not a fucking folk tale or something. You fuckface.

By: Upton O'Good

Upton O'Good — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:42:10 -0800

Uh, actually Tristran and Isolde is a folktale dating to the 12th century.

By: JimmyJames

JimmyJames — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 00:49:31 -0800

Screw living in a beach house on the Great Barrier Reef. Where do I sign up to be the Vole who casually fucks for a living?

By: rokusan

rokusan — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 00:58:36 -0800

So if it was the opposite of Ecstasy, would they call it Agony? ...live together in perfect HAR-MO-NYYYY....

By: AdamCSnider

AdamCSnider — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 07:39:36 -0800

Also, Tristan and Isolde was a fucking opera. By Wagner. It's not a fucking folk tale or something You're joking, right?

By: you're a kitty!

you're a kitty! — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 14:41:55 -0800

Is there any possible way this could be a targeted effect? If you're shooting up on anti-love in an attempt to keep yourself from going back to your abusive ex, are you also going to accidentally stop loving your mother?