The Science of Kissing: What Our Lips Are Telling Us
by Sheril Kirshenbaum
Grand Central Publishing
235 Pages Hardback
Pucker up. Or osculate, as the scientific term for kissing is referred to, The Science of Kissing is a unique book full of delightful adianoeta and all manner of insight into human physiology and culture. In fact, that's one of things I most enjoyed about this book: rather than try to go all serious, the author embraced the lighter side of the topic and deftly used that vector as a popular springboard into the science behind one of the least studied yet nearly universal of human behaviors.
The book starts with the evolutionary reasons for kissing. I.e., why do we do it, what is the selective advantage, if any. Together with comparisons to our nearest, and not so near, relatives who engaged in similar behavior. I found this to be one of the most fascinating parts of the book. It involves some degree of inference, but the tentative conclusions sounded reasonably well grounded given the existing data. The story then turns to the physiological effects of the act itself. And, as the author persuasively argues, those neurological responses are -- in my own words -- not too different from powerful, mood altering prescription and illicit drugs.
The Science of Kissing is not short on hard science, and laboratory data is introduced which underscore many of the prior points. One of the biggest challenges for science writers is maintaining reader interest through required but potentially technical, drier sections like that. Kirshenbaum bridges that gap effortlessly, and somewhat uniquely, thanks to chapters like "Women are from Venus, men are easy," and "There really are such things as cooties". And for us science nerds who hope to finally cash in on our analytical mindsets, the final chapter or two not only lays out the author's best take on why we kiss and what our lips are telling us, she leaves us with some thoughts about how you might leave a lasting impression, with your own lips.
Had this title come across my email from a stranger, perhaps I might have taken it less seriously. Or in all honesty, even scoffed at it. Kissing is afterall an unusual subject for rigorous analysis. Fortunately, I know Sheril Kirshenbaum is a gifted research scientist and one of the powerhouse Discover Magazine science bloggers. I went ahead and read it without any expectations. I'm glad I did, you will be too, and consider, my fellow science aficionados, what an exceptionally thoughtful, cool gift this would make for Valentine's Day when you're done.
Sheril Kirshenbaum is a research scientist with the Webber Energy Group at the University of Texas at Austin's Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy. She blogs with science journalist Chris Mooney at the Intersection and advises NPR's Science Friday. She plans to be here in comments below to respond to a few comments below, time permitting.