Scientists can too be romantic

I'm disproportionately annoyed by this rather tawdry attempt by the Guardian to be Buzzfeed. I mean, yes, it's lazy, crappy journalism (and not even funny; check out #AcademicValentines for some much better examples of this sort of humour), but it's also perpetuating really annoying stereotypes of scientists.

Seriously, knowing that the heart is about blood and muscle and how its rhythm is affected by hormones doesn't stop you from experiencing skooshy feelings about people. And knowledge isn't less romantic than ignorance; understanding the complex, beautiful machine that is the human heart and its integration with the rest of the body can inspire strong emotions just as much as treating the heart as a love-generating magic item. Scientists aren't cynical, uncaring people just because we study the physical reality of how the world works.

This is a real Valentine for scientists! And this is a real love letter from a scientist who gets it:

I am not a poet.
I am a scientist,
and there is nothing a scientist loves more
than the the pursuit
of discovery.

This here scientist is very fond of all my readers. And I wish you all lots of love, whatever form that takes, traditionally romantic or not.