Is it lust, love, natural selection, or just spring?

Jacques-Louis David, "The Love of Helen and Paris," Wikipedia

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An old saw now, Tennyson's assertion in "Locksley Hall" that

In the spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love

may be scientifically true. In the New York Times this article by Natalie Angier "Seasons Sway Human Birth Rates" says

In the new study, the scientists scrutinized birth records of 166 countries, representing tens of millions of births. Studying the United States and Europe and the other countries of the temperate zone in the Northern Hemisphere the researchers found there are two annual conception peaks, which continue today but were especially notable before the era of extensive industrialization.

One statistical spike occurs around the spring equinox, in March, resulting in a spate of births in late December or early January. The second arrives in autumn, around October or November, leading to a slight glut of babies arriving in mid-summer.

A member of the study team, Dr. Roenneberg, adds that "The effects of climate and day length are becoming less effective in the modern world, because we're always indoors, and the lighting and temperature are controlled." You can find a summary of the article at SAGE journals.

This study, and others, raise the question: are we in control of our own passions or controlled by factors outside ourselves? Personally, I would say that few control his/her passions. What we desire just is and you either go with it or run in the opposite direction. Just my opinion.

But if you find you can't stop thinking of a special one, it's probably time to ask yourself--is it lust or love? Dr. Judith Orloff gives some practical advice in "Tips to Identify the Difference Between Love and Lust."

If it is lust, why this particular person? And why am I so confused? Dr. Helen E. Fisher, writing at Dana Foundation, asserts "Brains Do It: Lust, Attraction, and Attachment."

If all this is just too cerebral for you, blame your fatal attraction on Darwin's theory of natural selection. This interesting discussion is taking place at a thread under Reddit's explain like I'm five: If being attractive is an important aspect of sexual attraction, why hasn't natural selection turned us all into super models?.

-- Marge