Pherotones are the controversial brainchild of Myra Vanderhood, an iconoclastic intimacy researcher whose findings have alienated her from mainstream science. If you hear a phone ring with one of these sounds, you will be under the influence of a love potion. That's the story at pherotones.com; but maybe it's all just a stealth marketing campaign by McKinney Silver, as several commenters at Makezine.com have argued. At the suggestion of a spokeswoman for Durham, North Carolina-based McKinney Silver, Gelf instant-messaged with Dr. Vanderhood. We'll leave it to you to decide whether you should soon put on earmuffs when within earshot of cellphones, or instead install a bullshit-detector when surfing new websites.

GelfNY: Dr. Vanderhood, are you around? This is Carl Bialik from Gelf Magazine
DrPherotone: Hi hi, are you still there?
GelfNY: yes indeed
GelfNY: are you being deluged with inquiries?
DrPherotone: Yes, but I have carved out some time for you.
GelfNY: always appreciated.
DrPherotone: how can Ihelp you?
GelfNY: Pardon me for getting right to the point, but who are you, really?
DrPherotone: Dr. Myra Vanderhood.
GelfNY: MD?
DrPherotone: Not a medical doctor…
more researcher than clinician.
GelfNY: and you find university students to volunteer to listen to pherotones?
DrPherotone: Mostly we test pherotones on ourselves…
but there are three major universities here, so it's a good population to study.
GelfNY: how can i protect myself from pherotones? is there an antidote?
DrPherotone: That's an excellent question.
DrPherotone: I know that you can cancel out one sound with another sound, like white noise drowning out traffic on a busy street. It works by finding a frequency that cancels the frequency you are trying to stop. I am sure there is a subsonic, infra sound, nanosonic way of doing the same thing for Pherotones. I would imagine there would be a huge market for both.
GelfNY: infrasound, nanosonic -- nice. I'll have to look those up.
GelfNY: are you writing me from denmark now?
DrPherotone: No, I am an American, a Dutch-American. I live outside of Chapel Hill.
DrPherotone: I work in the research trinagle park, not far from there. that's where I am right now.
DrPherotone: In my beautiful corner office.
GelfNY: apologies, i misunderstood the denmark thing.
DrPherotone: It's surrounded by trees, loblolly pines…

GelfNY: sounds romantic
DrPherotone: Not to worry, I became aware of Pherotones while in denmark.
GelfNY: are you affiliated with an institution down there? anyone who can vouch for you?
DrPherotone: That's kind of a sore spot with me.
DrPherotone: My views are very controversial.
GelfNY: so you work by yourself, and rent an office?
DrPherotone: No, I have a great team, we were all drummed out of the academy together. it only made us closer.
GelfNY: word on the web is at least one institution has been working with you -- mckinney silver. do you know them?
DrPherotone: Sure. They are helping us with the website. Awesome work. I can't believe the response.
GelfNY: they're being funded by someone to do this, or they're doing it out of the goodness of their heart?
DrPherotone: Do you want to know more about the Denmark thing. I can talk about it if you like…
It was my Issac Newton Moment.
GelfNY: a cellphone fell off a tree and onto your head?
DrPherotone: We are their clients. I handle R&D, not business, but I am sure they are well rewarded for their work.
DrPherotone: You don't get a website that sophisticated and classy without paying for it. GelfNY: gotcha. and you handle r&d for the company pherotones.com?
GelfNY: yes, the "as seen on the web" decor is quite spiffy
DrPherotone: We're not really a company in the sense of being incorporated, making things, selling things…
more like a think tank, but we have an enterprise team that seeks to partner with businesses to develop commercial applications of our technology.
GelfNY: cool. so eta of pherotones to my phone?
DrPherotone: Part of our ongoing negotiations is that I am not supposed to talk about any details, but I would hope that it is weeks away, not months. That's as specific as I can be right now.
GelfNY: i understand. please, then, do tell more about the isaac newton moment. also, when you get a second, at which universities did you study?
DrPherotone: Did you any questions about Pherotones themselves, the business end is not really my thing.
DrPherotone: I bounced around a lot school wise. Got most of my degrees at an Intimacy Institute in Juarez Mexico.
GelfNY: yes, i'm very curious for pherotones details, including the isaac newton moment; how long one must be heard before it takes effect; can they be fine-tuned for specific reactions -- lust, love, platonic love, hate; will they really be free, as advertised on the site; and what are their implications for the future of mankind and mating
DrPherotone: These are, by far, the very best questions I have been asked today.
DrPherotone: Yes, I believe that someday, once we understand them better, pherotones can be fine-tuned for more specific reactions.
DrPherotone: You've keyed onto an important issue. Attraction is a much more metaphysical subject than people think. While it is a precursor to sexual intercourse, it actually has much more in common with love, altruism, admiration…
It's not the arousal per se, but the warm safe feeling you get that makes you say, hey, this is going to be OK, this feels good.
DrPherotone: I think that pherotones have a spiritual component. Have you heard of the God Spot.
DrPherotone: Still with me,
GelfNY: yep
DrPherotone: Google god spot.
DrPherotone: Now, this is some very controversial research done, I beleive at Duke. They MRI subjects as they pray, and part of their brain lights up…
a part of the brain where peace, serenity, sense of well being is found.
DrPherotone: The same spot lights up when Jazz fans hear jazz…
I'm thinking pherotones work something like this.
DrPherotone: Now, the God spot is just one example, but I believe all of this stuff is somehow tied togethr.
DrPherotone: Have you seen my blog?
DrPherotone: You still with me?
DrPherotone: Gelfy?
DrPherotone: I fyou want to pick it back up later, let me know.
DrPherotone: Hope I wasn't boring you.
DrPherotone: Gelfy, I'm going to step out to the balcony and have a cigarette. If I am not here when you get back.