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Arthur Brooks: Opposites Really Do Attract
“We truly can love each other across big cultural and linguistic differences,” writes Arthur Brooks. (Illustration by The Free Press; photo by David Turnley/Corbis via Getty Images)
If you have dated a good many people but haven’t felt much of a spark with anybody, the answer might be to stop looking for your cultural twin.
By Arthur Brooks
02.13.26 — The Pursuit of Happiness with Arthur Brooks
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Dear Friends,

Happy Valentine’s Day for tomorrow to those who celebrate it. Although Mrs. B and I are still in love after lo, these many decades, we don’t much observe the holiday. Being of foreign birth, she always regarded it cynically as an event, like so many of our unofficial holidays, made up by marketers. (Which, you might be thinking, is no worse…

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Arthur Brooks
Arthur C. Brooks is a social scientist and one of the world’s leading authorities on human happiness. He is a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School, Free Press columnist, CBS News contributor, and host of the podcast Office Hours. From 2009 to 2019, he served as president of the American Enterprise Institute. His books have been translated into dozens of languages and include the No. 1 New York Times bestsellers Build the Life You Want (co-authored with Oprah Winfrey) and From Strength to Strength. His next book, The Meaning of Your Life, is available March 31, 2026. You can learn more at www.TheMeaningOfYourLife.com. He lives with his family in Virginia.
Tags:
Love & Relationships
Love
Science
Family
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