Why do we want a nice head on our brews?

Hello everyone
Since becoming a homebrewer I have read so much about head retention and what hurts it and helps it etc. Well one of my friends was watching me pour and noticed that I aggressively poured at the end to create a head. He asked me why I did this and I told him to create a nice head on the beer. Then he simply asked me why and I had no idea. Ive never really thought about it. In my college days the perfect pour was one with no foam on top so you could drink it as fast as possible. And now the perfect pour is so much different. Why is there supposed to be a head on the beer? Thanks

To keep us from gulping it down and allowing us to taste?

I don't know how valid this information is, but it seems to make sense to me. The head typically adds a big part of the aroma component. Aroma heavily influences taste.

http://www.howtodothings.com/food-and-drink/a4700-how-to-pour-beer.html

I think there is a much better mouth feel.

better aroma is the biggest thing for me, visually I like the look and am more apt to drink a well poured pint.

The bubbles popping in the head release a lot of aroma. Considering our sense of Taste is directly linked to our sense of smell it makes sense to want a big head on the beer.

In addition to aroma, the proteins and such that contribute to good head retention also contribute heavily to the mouthfeel. Would you want to drink a stout that felt watery or syrupy going down, or do you want it to feel like a milkshake in your mouth?

Aroma... and it looks nice!

Head on your beer is like the whipped cream on your pie!

Personally, I pour more aggressively because I want to get more CO2 out of solution, the bite just takes away from the flavour IMO. As for why I want the head to stick around? It's purdy. I love seeing a nice whispy cloud of head towering over the rim of the glass... mmmmmm...

Also the popping bubbles help aromatic gases reach the olfactory bulb to be slightly scientific.

A solid head help keeps the aroma at bay so to speak. Stopping it from all rushing out of the glass at once as the bubbles rise. Thus keeping it there for you drink after drink. This is my understanding. Pour two IPAs. One with a college perfect pour one with a 1/2"-inch thick head. Stick your nose in, which smells better?

Thanks alot everyone I really learned alot from this. And knowledge is power.