Who knew that the probability of the nucleus of an atom decaying
had any resemblance to the probability of a couple breaking up?
Well, Richard Ecob at Oxford did and used this similarity to
create a computer model of the dating world. This model included
imaginary social networks populated with people who had a set of
interests looking for partners. What his team found is that even
people with many preferences of traits they would like in a mate
had the same likelihood of ending up in a relationship as did
those singles with fewer preferences. They also found that
people who formed many relationships actually were worse at
finding a partner. However, these "super daters" were good for
others, breaking up weak couples who were then free to find
stronger relationships. Next thing you know, people are going to
be described as protons or neutrons based on how they behave in
relationships.