Love

From the great words of Sherlock Holmes, "Sentiment is a chemical defect". I take those words as gospel. I see a relationship as a human being's instinct to reproduce. Our need for reproduction is motivated by our body's need for certain hormones. There's a hormone released for every stage of a relationship. This acts as a kind of reward-system. The hormone released by general affection is Dopamine. At the start of a relationship, the reason why one would seem to "fall in love" with one another, is due to the hormone Serotonin, which causes a kind of infatuation. This is also the chemical that causes addictions. The hormone Oxytocin causes long-term attachments, and is released following the sexual climax. Other hormones known to be linked with romantic attachment include nerve growth factor, testosterone, estrogen, dopamine, norepinephrine, and vasopressin.

In many American films, the thought of finding "the one" is also questioned. Studies show that certain people can be biologically compatible. This has been called "Genetic Matchmaking" and is generally focused on body odors. An experiment by Dr. Wedekind showed that certain body odors were considered more attractive to certain people. So, without discouraging society, I can tell you that there is a chance of finding "the one" or someone you are biologically compatible with.

 There is also the factor of personality. I've always considered personality to be a part of one's ego, as it is developed through one's childhood, and caused by how one was raised, or events in their lives that may have triggered a certain insecurity. Some aspects of one's personality could be scientifically compatible with someone else's. For example, a self-conscious individual would be more compatible with a person who'd be encouraging, rather than simply another self-conscious person.

Sentiment can be considered an advantage, but when put in life threatening, or important scenarios such as crime-solving, sentiment is a clear disadvantage.

-SJ