TedTest

From the Ted Talk by Brad Troeger: What is love?

Unscramble the Blue Letters

What is love? Seriously, though, what is it? What is love? A verb? A noun? A universal truth? An ideal? A cmomon thread of all religions? A cult? A neurological phenomenon? There's no shortage of answers. Some are all-encompassing. It conquers all. It's all you need. It's all there is. These are all comparisons, though, ways of defining it by contrast, by saying it's more important than all other things, but is it? Sure, love mtrtaes more than your standard turkey sdnaiwch, but does it matter more than sleehtr? Or sanity? Or an epnacioetxl turkey sandwich? No mttaer your aenswr, you're just ranking it, not defining it. Another challenge to dneinfig love is we often try to do so while falling into it or out of it. Would you trust someone who just won the lottery to accurately define the concept of currency? Or, I don't know, ask a guy to define bears while he's fending them off? Or is rnaocme not like winning the lottery? Are break ups not like bear attacks? Bad comparisons? That's my point. I'm not thinking right because I'm in love, so ha! Taking a step back, or taking a cold shower, whatever, love is potentially the most itnneelsy thought about thing in all of human history. And despite centuries upon centuries of obsession, it still oemlwevrhs us. Some say it's a fleieng, a magical emotion, a feeling for someone like you've never felt before. But feelings are fluid, not very concrete foundation for a definition. Sometimes you hate the person you love. Plus, come on, you've felt feelings like it before, sort of in miniature. Your reioanhlptsis with your family shape your relationships with partners. And your love for your partner may be in its own dynamic relationship, healthy or totally weird, with the love of your parents and sgilbnis. Love is also a set of behaviors we aosiatsce with the feeling: Holding hndas, ksisnig, hugging, public dalispys of affection, dating, marriage, having kids, or just sex. But these loving actions can be subjective or culturally relative. You may love or be someone who can't have kids or doesn't want to, who believes in marriage but also in diocrve, who's from a curtule where people don't really date the way we think of dating, or who just doesn't want to make out on the bus. But if love is a thing that we can define, then how can it mean opposite things for so many people? So, maybe love's just all in your head, a psnaorel mystery winding through your neural pathways and lighting up penlasig, natural rewards in your nervous system. Perhaps these rewards are avticdide. Perhaps love is a temporary or permanent atciiddon to a person, just like a person can be acidetdd to a drug. I don't mean to be edgy like some pop song. Evidence swhos that chemicals in your brain sauitetmld by another person can make you delvoep a habit for that person. The person comes to sfaisty a physiological craving, and you want more. But then sometimes, slowly or sdldneuy, you don't. You've fallen out of love, become unaddicted, for a spell. What happened? Does one develop a tolerance or hit a liimt? Why do some lovers stay addicted to each other their entire lives? Perhaps to create new lives, to proliferate their species? Maybe love is just human DNA's oaptiml method for bringing about its own replication. There are evolutionary arguments regarding every human mating behavior, from how we display ourselves to potential mates, to how we treat each other in relationships, to how we raise kids. Thus, some argue that the feeling you think you feel in your soul is just biology's way to make you continue our species. Nature has seeectld you to have csrehus on hotties, just like it makes monkeys have crushes on hot monkeys, and biology marches on. But is that all love is? Or, perhaps worse, is it just a corsucntt, some fake concept we all convince each other to try to live up to for a fake sense of purpose? Maybe it is a construct, but let's be more precise about what a construct is because love is constructed from reality: Our exinepecres, feelings, brain chemistry, cultural eaitconptexs, our levis. And this edifice can be vweied through countless dimensions: sitfnceiic, emotional, historical, spiritual, legal, or just personal. If no two people are the same, no two people's love is the same either. So, in every loving relationship, there's a lot to talk about and partners should be open to that, or the relationship probably won't last. Love is always up for disicssuon and, sure, under construction. So, if we can't define it, that's a good sign. It means we're all still maikng it. Wait, I didn't mean, you know what I meant.

Open Cloze

What is love? Seriously, though, what is it? What is love? A verb? A noun? A universal truth? An ideal? A ______ thread of all religions? A cult? A neurological phenomenon? There's no shortage of answers. Some are all-encompassing. It conquers all. It's all you need. It's all there is. These are all comparisons, though, ways of defining it by contrast, by saying it's more important than all other things, but is it? Sure, love _______ more than your standard turkey ________, but does it matter more than _______? Or sanity? Or an ___________ turkey sandwich? No ______ your ______, you're just ranking it, not defining it. Another challenge to ________ love is we often try to do so while falling into it or out of it. Would you trust someone who just won the lottery to accurately define the concept of currency? Or, I don't know, ask a guy to define bears while he's fending them off? Or is _______ not like winning the lottery? Are break ups not like bear attacks? Bad comparisons? That's my point. I'm not thinking right because I'm in love, so ha! Taking a step back, or taking a cold shower, whatever, love is potentially the most _________ thought about thing in all of human history. And despite centuries upon centuries of obsession, it still __________ us. Some say it's a _______, a magical emotion, a feeling for someone like you've never felt before. But feelings are fluid, not very concrete foundation for a definition. Sometimes you hate the person you love. Plus, come on, you've felt feelings like it before, sort of in miniature. Your _____________ with your family shape your relationships with partners. And your love for your partner may be in its own dynamic relationship, healthy or totally weird, with the love of your parents and ________. Love is also a set of behaviors we _________ with the feeling: Holding _____, _______, hugging, public ________ of affection, dating, marriage, having kids, or just sex. But these loving actions can be subjective or culturally relative. You may love or be someone who can't have kids or doesn't want to, who believes in marriage but also in _______, who's from a _______ where people don't really date the way we think of dating, or who just doesn't want to make out on the bus. But if love is a thing that we can define, then how can it mean opposite things for so many people? So, maybe love's just all in your head, a ________ mystery winding through your neural pathways and lighting up ________, natural rewards in your nervous system. Perhaps these rewards are _________. Perhaps love is a temporary or permanent _________ to a person, just like a person can be ________ to a drug. I don't mean to be edgy like some pop song. Evidence _____ that chemicals in your brain __________ by another person can make you _______ a habit for that person. The person comes to _______ a physiological craving, and you want more. But then sometimes, slowly or ________, you don't. You've fallen out of love, become unaddicted, for a spell. What happened? Does one develop a tolerance or hit a _____? Why do some lovers stay addicted to each other their entire lives? Perhaps to create new lives, to proliferate their species? Maybe love is just human DNA's _______ method for bringing about its own replication. There are evolutionary arguments regarding every human mating behavior, from how we display ourselves to potential mates, to how we treat each other in relationships, to how we raise kids. Thus, some argue that the feeling you think you feel in your soul is just biology's way to make you continue our species. Nature has ________ you to have _______ on hotties, just like it makes monkeys have crushes on hot monkeys, and biology marches on. But is that all love is? Or, perhaps worse, is it just a _________, some fake concept we all convince each other to try to live up to for a fake sense of purpose? Maybe it is a construct, but let's be more precise about what a construct is because love is constructed from reality: Our ___________, feelings, brain chemistry, cultural ____________, our _____. And this edifice can be ______ through countless dimensions: __________, emotional, historical, spiritual, legal, or just personal. If no two people are the same, no two people's love is the same either. So, in every loving relationship, there's a lot to talk about and partners should be open to that, or the relationship probably won't last. Love is always up for __________ and, sure, under construction. So, if we can't define it, that's a good sign. It means we're all still ______ it. Wait, I didn't mean, you know what I meant.

Solution

shelter
shows
selected
relationships
hands
overwhelms
addicted
crushes
viewed
matters
romance
siblings
associate
feeling
pleasing
displays
exceptional
satisfy
scientific
limit
expectations
lives
discussion
sandwich
experiences
personal
intensely
addiction
defining
common
optimal
addictive
construct
answer
stimulated
divorce
suddenly
making
matter
culture
kissing
develop

Original Text

What is love? Seriously, though, what is it? What is love? A verb? A noun? A universal truth? An ideal? A common thread of all religions? A cult? A neurological phenomenon? There's no shortage of answers. Some are all-encompassing. It conquers all. It's all you need. It's all there is. These are all comparisons, though, ways of defining it by contrast, by saying it's more important than all other things, but is it? Sure, love matters more than your standard turkey sandwich, but does it matter more than shelter? Or sanity? Or an exceptional turkey sandwich? No matter your answer, you're just ranking it, not defining it. Another challenge to defining love is we often try to do so while falling into it or out of it. Would you trust someone who just won the lottery to accurately define the concept of currency? Or, I don't know, ask a guy to define bears while he's fending them off? Or is romance not like winning the lottery? Are break ups not like bear attacks? Bad comparisons? That's my point. I'm not thinking right because I'm in love, so ha! Taking a step back, or taking a cold shower, whatever, love is potentially the most intensely thought about thing in all of human history. And despite centuries upon centuries of obsession, it still overwhelms us. Some say it's a feeling, a magical emotion, a feeling for someone like you've never felt before. But feelings are fluid, not very concrete foundation for a definition. Sometimes you hate the person you love. Plus, come on, you've felt feelings like it before, sort of in miniature. Your relationships with your family shape your relationships with partners. And your love for your partner may be in its own dynamic relationship, healthy or totally weird, with the love of your parents and siblings. Love is also a set of behaviors we associate with the feeling: Holding hands, kissing, hugging, public displays of affection, dating, marriage, having kids, or just sex. But these loving actions can be subjective or culturally relative. You may love or be someone who can't have kids or doesn't want to, who believes in marriage but also in divorce, who's from a culture where people don't really date the way we think of dating, or who just doesn't want to make out on the bus. But if love is a thing that we can define, then how can it mean opposite things for so many people? So, maybe love's just all in your head, a personal mystery winding through your neural pathways and lighting up pleasing, natural rewards in your nervous system. Perhaps these rewards are addictive. Perhaps love is a temporary or permanent addiction to a person, just like a person can be addicted to a drug. I don't mean to be edgy like some pop song. Evidence shows that chemicals in your brain stimulated by another person can make you develop a habit for that person. The person comes to satisfy a physiological craving, and you want more. But then sometimes, slowly or suddenly, you don't. You've fallen out of love, become unaddicted, for a spell. What happened? Does one develop a tolerance or hit a limit? Why do some lovers stay addicted to each other their entire lives? Perhaps to create new lives, to proliferate their species? Maybe love is just human DNA's optimal method for bringing about its own replication. There are evolutionary arguments regarding every human mating behavior, from how we display ourselves to potential mates, to how we treat each other in relationships, to how we raise kids. Thus, some argue that the feeling you think you feel in your soul is just biology's way to make you continue our species. Nature has selected you to have crushes on hotties, just like it makes monkeys have crushes on hot monkeys, and biology marches on. But is that all love is? Or, perhaps worse, is it just a construct, some fake concept we all convince each other to try to live up to for a fake sense of purpose? Maybe it is a construct, but let's be more precise about what a construct is because love is constructed from reality: Our experiences, feelings, brain chemistry, cultural expectations, our lives. And this edifice can be viewed through countless dimensions: scientific, emotional, historical, spiritual, legal, or just personal. If no two people are the same, no two people's love is the same either. So, in every loving relationship, there's a lot to talk about and partners should be open to that, or the relationship probably won't last. Love is always up for discussion and, sure, under construction. So, if we can't define it, that's a good sign. It means we're all still making it. Wait, I didn't mean, you know what I meant.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

Important Words

accurately
actions
addicted
addiction
addictive
affection
answer
answers
argue
arguments
associate
attacks
bad
bear
bears
behavior
behaviors
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biology
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bus
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challenge
chemicals
chemistry
cold
common
comparisons
concept
concrete
conquers
construct
constructed
construction
continue
contrast
convince
countless
craving
create
crushes
cult
cultural
culturally
culture
currency
date
dating
define
defining
definition
develop
discussion
display
displays
divorce
drug
dynamic
edgy
edifice
emotion
emotional
entire
evidence
evolutionary
exceptional
expectations
experiences
fake
fallen
falling
family
feel
feeling
feelings
felt
fending
fluid
foundation
good
guy
habit
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happened
hate
head
healthy
historical
history
hit
holding
hot
hotties
hugging
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ideal
important
intensely
kids
kissing
legal
lighting
limit
live
lives
lot
lottery
love
lovers
loving
magical
making
marches
marriage
mates
mating
matter
matters
means
meant
method
miniature
monkeys
mystery
natural
nature
nervous
neural
neurological
noun
obsession
open
optimal
overwhelms
parents
partner
partners
pathways
people
permanent
person
personal
phenomenon
physiological
pleasing
point
pop
potential
potentially
precise
proliferate
public
purpose
raise
ranking
relationship
relationships
relative
religions
replication
rewards
romance
sandwich
sanity
satisfy
scientific
selected
sense
set
sex
shape
shelter
shortage
shower
shows
siblings
sign
slowly
song
sort
soul
species
spell
spiritual
standard
stay
step
stimulated
subjective
suddenly
system
talk
temporary
thinking
thought
thread
tolerance
totally
treat
trust
truth
turkey
unaddicted
universal
ups
verb
viewed
wait
ways
weird
winding
winning
won
worse