London - The same researcher who claims that maths can help predict whether or not couples will stick together believes that statistics can also help you choose your romantic partner for life.
In a talk promoting her book The Mathematics Of Love, UCL’s Dr Hannah Fry said studies have revealed that you should ditch “everybody who appears in the first 37 percent of your dating life”.
This is known as “optimal stopping theory”, she told the Cheltenham Science Festival, adding: “If you do that you are giving yourself the best possible chance of finding the best possible partner.”
The theory means that if a man started dating when he was 15, and plans to settle down at 35, then he should cross anyone who he dated when he was between 15 and 22-and-a-half years old off his list of potential long-term loves.
Dr Fry went on to say that if he picked one person at random out of 20 people he had dated in his life, then he would have just a five percent chance of choosing the best partner. However if he rejected all the people he went out with before he was 27, and picked one partner out of the remaining women, then the chance of him picking the best match for him would rise to 38 percent.
But Dr Fry said the theory had its limitations, adding: “If you are 21 and dating someone awesome, then don’t dump them. It’s just a nice bit of maths.”
Daily Mail