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by panic
3355 days ago
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Since we're all part of the same species, we're all genetically compatible when it comes to reproduction! But most people care about other kinds of compatibility, too. It's hard to see how genetic testing would let you find people who are emotionally, intellectually or romantically compatible. |
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It's very possible that awareness of genetic influence on attraction and relationships, and the potential it has to improve our understanding and choices, is not widely known, so it's worth saying something more about it.
It's true that speciation is a necessary condition of mating usually, but it's not sufficient for getting the best genetic outcome for conception and offspring, and more importantly, attraction is not just about mating. So being from the same species is not enough to have good relationships, genetic compatibility goes far deeper than that.
Our genetic profiles underly much of our individual traits and therefore determine what traits of others we are attracted to and compatible with. Genetics affects attraction in a multidimensional, multiscale way, from subliminally assessing someone's biology from their smell, through how people handle stress in their lives, to determining lifestyle preference, and even to the type of emotional reactions people feel and express when they're fighting, and better or worse compatibility across the genetic spectrum can strengthen or weaken not just the long-term relationship potential but the intensity of the attractiveness.
Relationships reflect who you are, and genetics is a strong signal of who you are. Someone who can factor genetics into their relationship choices is going to be better positioned to create positive relationship outcomes for themselves then someone who is unable to factor genetics in. So in this way a business based on genetic compatibility matching he's giving people a "sixth sense", a kind of superpower to increase their happiness in the world. It doesn't even have to be about changing your choices, you can just be giving you another signal so that you know how better to manage the genetic situation in front of you.
There's useful models of attraction that include a whole range of genetic variables, and evidence that people feel attracted to people whose genetics match their own.
Things like immune system compatibility, and avoiding genes that would produce less fit offspring, all factor into humans biological, subconscious signaling about attraction. A lot of that is based on our bodies doing spectrometry on the chemicals other bodies emit: odor and smell.
But this natural system has room for improvement. People still naturally choose mates with whom they end up incompatible, can't conceive, or inadvertently activate latent generic disease in their offspring with two copies of the carrier gene.
Strengthening the genetic basis of attraction by giving people a "sixth sense", in the form of a matching service backed by genetic science, would positively contribute all aspects of attraction, by giving you a choice of partners you are more likely to be compatible with emotionally, intellectually, romantically over the long term based on who their genetics say they are.
It's not for everyone. Even tho our bodies genetically profile the people we meet, purple understandably have a great fear of this being systematic because independent systematic systems can be abused.
The tl;dr is genetics underly many personality traits, emotional reactions and character as well as biology. Training models on genetic compatibility of successful relationships and using that predictively has potential to improve relationships, not just reproduction.
Even when you take reproduction out of the equation, improving the clarity of genetic signaling, can boost awareness of signals of attractiveness, and of long term, identity based qualities you are looking for in a partner, that can work for homosexual relationships too.