&gt; No matter what, dating will be unfair, challenging, and zero-sum.<p>The first two, yes, but I don&#x27;t see how the third follows. Let&#x27;s say A + B are dating, likewise C + D. Later, they split up and pair up as A + C and B + D. It turns out A and C are much more compatible with each other as, are B and D. The total happiness of the system has increased.<p>Sure, the number of participants is relatively fixed, but it&#x27;s not a question of &quot;any warm body or alone&quot;, it&#x27;s more a question of which specific people are most compatible with each other.