Thursday, December 17, 2009

I AM a great dancer…

I think that Dr. Peter Lovatt is my new hero, nay, I will go so far as to say my new SUPER HERO.  First of all, his area of specialty is “Psychology of dance”; too funny. Sure you COULD call him a “cognitive psychologist”, but really, why would you? Does he have an advanced degree in the “Psychology of dance” and work at IBM? No, he actually runs The University Dance Lab at Hertfordshire, and he really takes his research seriously (as well he should.) For example, in this entertaining and educational video we learn what makes a dancing female attractive (or not).

And of course the reciprocal, what makes a male dancer attractive (or not). This was filmed  on my favorite show “The Graham Norton Show”, he is SO funny. Watch the entire video, the Dr. Jones homage at the end is typical for Graham.

BUT, by far the most interesting study that Dr. Lovatt has done is:

University of Hertfordshire (2009, December 16). Men think their dance moves improve with age. 

Where he determined that as a man ages, he THINKS that he is a better dancer, he may or may not actually BE a better dancer, but he thinks he is. Of course in my case, I am actually a better dancer. :D

I mean, right?

2 comments:

  1. Haven't watched the second video yet, but I will.

    I think the age thing goes well beyond the "psychology of dance." I (at 27 years old) think that, in general, a man is prone to think he's better than he was yesterday. Otherwise, why continue being? If I as a human being don't improve almost every day, why should I continue to exist?

    The following is bullshit, pure and unadulterated. I have no expertise whatsoever in this area. I am, as they say, "spitballing."

    As far as dancing is concerned, I'd be willing to bet that something like seventy percent of males get better as they get older. As you get older, you experience more people. You know what a fool looks like, and you know what women think a fool looks like. When you dance, you make an effort not to look like that.

    When you're young(er), you think you know what a fool looks like, until you see a photo of yourself from six months ago and experience a sense of sheer terror as you realize you still own that hat. Then you become self-conscious and start paying more attention to how people dress/dance/respond to other people who dress/dance in a certain way.

    It's at that point that you begin to become a better dancer. Every time you dance, rather than simply flailing about wildly, you pay more attention, not only to your own movements, but to how others seem to respond to them.

    Also, old men drink more whiskey than younger men. Everyone knows that more alcohol=better dancing.

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  2. You are partially correct, but (as a 44 year old) I think that its also partially "Dood, piss off, this is how I like to dance" You get that way as you get older. :D

    You find yourself looking at kids and saying "You know, it doesn't REALLY matter what others think, just do what YOU like" or "just kiss her already!"

    And then you think "yeah, when I was younger I was the same way"
    THEN you think "wait, will 55 year old PaulC wonder why 44 year old PaulC didn't just do it? Shit, I better dance the way I want." :D

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