I've seen a number of articles on kissing recently, most of which approach the subject in a scientific way, quote academic journals, cite the results of surveys, etc. They talk about how kissing is "fun" (hell yeah, it is!), but they don't talk about the magic.

In a nutshell, the conclusions are that we use kissing to size up potential mates via sensory clues including taste, sound and smell. We've already decided that we like the way they look, their body language, their attitude and how they communicate. So we kiss them to see if the chemistry is there.

Hmm. That's all fine and good, and for the most part I like to know how things work. But when it comes to physically interacting with a woman, I'm not sure I want to know WHY I like doing it.

I personally think it's because they are the yummiest creatures on Earth. But I digress.

Perhaps there's something to the "sizing up" thing at the very beginning of a relationship because we've all kissed people who we didn't click with. It's an awkward mess that takes a turn for the worst if we ignore the lack of chemistry and decide to resolve our pent-up sexual desires by sleeping with them anyway.

You've been there before, just like I have. Haven't you? C'mon, I won't tell anyone. Aha! I knew it.

The awkwardness turns to outright discomfort, and the sexual act itself is so pathetic that you can't help but laugh about it afterwards. If you haven't, you should really try. After all, you've had great sex, so you know it's not your fault. It's just that the person with whom you naively danced the horizontal mambo wasn't a good fit...perhaps literally and figuratively.

But how do scientists explain the overwhelming visceral need to give someone a devouring, tongue-thrusted kiss that flows with perfection and causes us to tear each other's clothes off? That has nothing to do with "sizing up", now does it? Really, it's all about perfect attraction, primordial desire, and either love or lust or some heavenly combination of the two.

In other words: it's MAGIC, pure and simple. And that's good enough for me.