# Heart as center as love and affection **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [May 31, 2014, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heart-as-center-as-love-and-affection/689710 "2014-05-31T16:25:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Loki35](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3e96dc/32.png) [@Loki35](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loki35)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heart-as-center-as-love-and-affection/689710/1 "2014-05-31T16:25:19Z")
Ask someone–anyone–to point to himself or herself. Everyone points toward the general area of the heart. No one points to their head. It’s hard to say exactly what the “self” is, but we all seem to agree it lies, or is centered, near the heart. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heart-as-center-as-love-and-affection/689710/2 "2014-05-31T16:48:37Z")
maybe this column > **[Why is the heart considered the center of love and affection?](https://www.straightdope.com/21342323/why-is-the-heart-considered-the-center-of-love-and-affection)** ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heart-as-center-as-love-and-affection/689710/3 "2014-05-31T18:57:35Z")
> [@Loki35](#): > > Ask someone–anyone–to point to himself or herself. Everyone points toward the general area of the heart. No one points to their head. It’s hard to say exactly what the “self” is, but we all seem to agree it lies, or is centered, near the heart. We agree to it because we are taught it. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heart-as-center-as-love-and-affection/689710/4 "2014-05-31T21:00:54Z")
> [@Loki35](#): > > Ask someone–anyone–to point to himself or herself. Everyone points toward the general area of the heart. No one points to their head. It’s hard to say exactly what the “self” is, but we all seem to agree it lies, or is centered, near the heart. You don’t have to reach as far to point to your chest area than to your head or your left big toe. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heart-as-center-as-love-and-affection/689710/5 "2014-05-31T21:43:42Z")
Ask people to point to where their stomach hurts, and they point to their intestines. Ask people what women’s genetilia are called, and they say vaginas. Ask people where their kidneys are, and they touch their lower back. Popularity doesn’t make things correct. ---
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heart-as-center-as-love-and-affection/689710/6 "2014-05-31T22:50:15Z")
> [@Loki35](#): > > Ask someone–anyone–to point to himself or herself. Everyone points toward the general area of the heart. No one points to their head. It’s hard to say exactly what the “self” is, but we all seem to agree it lies, or is centered, near the heart. This is not true. In China - no wait - in Hong Kong - no wait - in Cantonese kung fu movies - no wait - _in those Cantonese kung fu movies that I have seen_, they always point towards their heads to indicate “me, I, myself.” ---
**Author:** ![sbunny8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@sbunny8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbunny8)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heart-as-center-as-love-and-affection/689710/7 "2014-06-02T17:20:48Z")
It makes sense to me because when you get nervous or scared or happy your heart (sometimes) starts pounding in your chest. Seems only natural to conclude that the heart is the center of emotion. ---
**Author:** ![Blackfaer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@Blackfaer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackfaer)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heart-as-center-as-love-and-affection/689710/8 "2014-06-02T21:02:37Z")
Toddlers tend to point to their faces to self-identify, not their hearts, until they get older. At least in my experience, with several different families in this area that I see regularly. So base on my own anecdotal observations, I’m inclined to go with the idea that it’s culturally taught to point to your chest as your ‘self’. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heart-as-center-as-love-and-affection/689710/9 "2014-06-04T13:50:05Z")
Also, the center of mass of a human body is in the torso; probably slightly below the heart, but human instincts aren’t exactly mathematically precise. So when a person points to themself, they might not be aiming at the heart per se, but just where most of them (i.e. their body) is.