Matchmaking (pt. 1)

03.26.2004

As sort of a running joke w/ some friends, I decided to set up a Match.com account and take their dating personality test. Here's a link to my results. Basic results were about what I expected — except I'm apparently more focused on feelings & less rational than most men my age. Huh?

Only 5% of men are like me (making me either a rare catch or a freakball). Although it seems I've no major "quirks." I'm also attractive to 55% of women ("very" attractive to 7%). Of course, 10% are turned off by guys like me.

Seems I'm also looking for someone as shy/introverted as me, but who's more cheerful & optimistic than I. Only 9% of women are my "type" (here's hoping they're the 7% who're "very" attracted to me). Still, 9% of all women means there are millions of women out there who're my "type."

Which actually makes my calculations on how many people are a "match" for any single person on the planet rather pessimistic. I'd calculated perhaps 10,000 women my age w/ similar interests I could meet in my lifetime that I'd find attractive & who found me attractive. So far, I've burned about 25-30 bridges. So I've got room to spare, eh?

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ADDENDUM: The calculations are as follows: There are 5 billion people on the planet, half of them are female (2.5 billion). Those in my rough age group are 1/5 of the female populations (500 million). Of those, let's assume that only 10% of them find me attractive (50 million) and that I find 10% of these attractive in turn (5 million). By "attractive" I mean looks, personality, interests, etc.

Of course geography plays a factor, since I can only expect to meet people near me (or that I run into someplace). This has some correlation w/ tastes, since I stand a better chance of having similar tastes in music, movies, etc. w/ someone in my "cultural milieux" than someone from Mongolia. Still, let's say I can someday in my life run into 1% of the women who I find attractive & find me attractive (50,000). Of these, let's assume that 1/5 of them are single at the same time I'm single when we meet (10,000).

So. You see? It's perfectly reasonable to assume there's a few thousand "perfect" matches for anyone. There's no one "perfect" person, mind you, just lots of possibilities. Love isn't written in the stars, the fates aren't Hollywood scriptwriters. Love is a choice (and a social contract).

Posted by Miguel at 04:37 PM

Comments

There's a great girl for you here (ok, probably more, but I happen to know one). She's pretty, has pluck, cheerful, has so much spunk and incredible style. One of those rare gems that just sparkles with life. She's learning French, reads far more than most people, but hardly someone you'd call a nerd. A wonderful conversationalist. Not only booksmart, but streetsmart. She drives a bike. And she writes for the magazines.

Posted by: steph at March 26, 2004 06:15 PM

By the way you forgot to count in the myriad of lesbians, so your number is even lower, unless you have some special magic touch to ... Lol, crazy Friday. N.

Posted by: Nenad at March 26, 2004 07:19 PM

And I thought you would post the picture of your future girlfriend here, just like Duane did... ;)

Posted by: Melli at March 27, 2004 12:11 AM

I think I'm lesbian-safe on the survey, since it pointed out people "attracted" to me. Then again, maybe some bisexuals out there might like me? Oh, and Match.com didn't give me a picture. Duane must've been using a different service?

Posted by: Miguel at March 27, 2004 03:12 PM