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Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Resemblances


Main Entry: re·sem·blance
Pronunciation: \ri-ˈzem-blən(t)s\
Function: noun
Date: 14th century
1 a : the quality or state of resembling; especially : correspondence in appearance or superficial qualities b : a point of likeness : similarity

The concept of resemblance has been at the forefront of my mind this week. There has been a "doppelganger" week on Facebook, whereby people have made their display pictures a photo of somebody they supposedly resemble. I've been told, more than once, that Nigella Lawson and I have similarities. Sure, we love to cook, and we have brown curly hair, and we both have hour-glass figures, so I guess we might resemble each other in some ways.

I'm currently reading a book titled Social Intelligenec: The New Science of Human Relationships by Dan Goleman. It has taken me quite a long time to get through it - with a multitude of complex ideas - but today I came across something that I found truly charming.
... something rather remarkable tends to happen with couples who live together for decades, finding happiness with each other. Their continual rapport even seems to leave its mark on their faces, which come to resemble each other, apparently a result of the sculpting of facial muscles as they evoke the same emotions over the years. Since each emotion tenses and relaxes a specific set of facial muscles, as partners smile or frown in unison they strengthen the parallel set of muscles. This gradually molds similar ridges, wrinkles and lines, making their faces appear more alike.

Goleman goes on to describe a study where wedding photos and photos from couples 25 years later were compared. Not only had their expressions and faces become more similar, but the more alike their faces had become, the more happy they were in their relationships.

This phenomenon results in partners being able to sculpt desirable patterns in each other. It is known as the "Michelangelo phenomenon".

In a similar way, many dog owners choose a dog that resembles themselves. One would imagine it would occur subconsciously; in my case, my dog has curly hair as do I. A new scientific study states that this is the case, at least this is the case with purebred canines, according to research from the University of California by Nicholas Christenfeld and Michael Roy.
Forty-five dogs and their owners were separately photographed and judges were shown pictures of an owner, that owner's dog, and one other dog, with the task of picking out the true match. The proof of resemblance was that a majority of the purebred dogs and their owners could be identified by the 28 judges called upon to examine the photographs, with the results showing 16 matches out of the 25 purebreds. There was no evidence of resemblance between the mixed breed dogs and their owners.

Given that dogs are a man's best friend, and you often seek out a friend that has similar traits or is like yourself, it is no wonder you might choose to select a dog that looks like you do.

Many times comments have been made about how my friends and I are so similar. We get each other's jokes and seem to speak another language; presumably because no one else can understand us (or at least they don't find our jokes funny). We also sometimes dress exactly the same - or develop the same obsessions - and it's all done without necessarily communicating with each other. We will get together and discover we've become mirror-images of each other, either through our outfits or our passions/ interests. Sometimes it's almost creepy how quickly your own personal identity is matched by someone else's.

In any case, i've enjoyed pondering the concept throughout this past week... look around you and see whether you associate with individuals that share great similarities with you? Has it always been this way?

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