July 10, 2014

"Moneyballing" relationships.

"[I]t's all about finding undervalued traits and assets in the dating market. And, just like with baseball, it starts with trying to ignore the superficial indices of value — attractiveness, wealth — in favor of hidden attributes with a stronger correlation to long-term relationship success."
With married couples... "liking declines at a rate of 3 percent a year, whereas lust declines at a rate of 8 percent per year," so the smarter, long-term investment is finding someone you genuinely like. Plus... studies also suggest that agreeable partners are in fact "better in bed" and less likely to cheat over the long haul.

26 comments:

Ron said...

Maybe romance needs more Steinbrenners than Billy Beanes?

Bob_R said...

"...lust declines at a rate of 8 percent per year"

If you are going to pull a number out of your ass, an 8 is a good one to choose. No pointy corners.

Dave D said...

That's some SERIOUS psychobabble right there!

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

Wow, rocket science. Incredible that people actually get to waste money on this shit.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

Wow. What a bad review. The reviewer hated even the idea of the book, and I didn't get a very good idea of what the book was about.

mccullough said...

Big tits for men are the on-base-percentage for sabremetricians.

Oso Negro said...

This is an interesting topic. Historically, I have felt attracted to, and compelled to reproduce with fierce and beautiful women. The results you would expect follow quite naturally. My offspring could put those of the Khan to shame. So now I find myself setting out once again on the great Sea of Love. It takes well less than a second to decide whether I find a woman attractive. I can estimate her IQ reliably enough in less than two minutes. But what is stumping me is how to assess kindness, my past point of failure.

I recall reading a boy's biography of Daniel Boone when I was in elementary school. In it, a story was told of Daniel wishing to determine Rebecca's temperament during their courtship. On a picnic together, he abruptly whipped out his hunting knife and rent her skirt to see how she would react. Apparently she passed the test.

So what can we learn from this? Either Daniel Boone was an uncommonly astute fellow, or some man writing the biography back in the 1940s or 1950s was trying to influence a generation of young male readers. It goes without saying that a man dare not whip out a hunting knife in 2014 and slice open a woman's skirt. The act will be considered felonious and the results will be epic.

So how can you tell if a woman is kind?

Ann Althouse said...

"Apparently she passed the test."

What's the right answer?

paul a'barge said...

Perform two tests:
1. the swallow test
2. the "make me a sandwich" test

Then make your decision.

Oso Negro said...

Heh. The right answer for Daniel Boone is that she didn't whip out her own knife and filet him over a bit of rent fabric. It was probably an uncommon amount of forbearance for an 18th Century woman and isn't something you could hope for today at all. They were married for quite a long time.

The Crack Emcee said...

"the smarter, long-term investment is finding someone you genuinely like"

I know somebody white got paid to write that and - still - you guys say I don't have a reason to be pissed at America,...

Smilin' Jack said...

... studies also suggest that agreeable partners are in fact "better in bed" and less likely to cheat over the long haul.

In the long haul we are all dead. Successful investors know that you ride a winner and dump a loser. Get a hot chick, and when she starts to fade, get another one.

Krumhorn said...

If you are going to pull a number out of your ass, an 8 is a good one to choose. No pointy corners.

Now, THAT's funny! I suppose the only thing worse than choosing a 3 is choosing 34.

- Krumhorn

Krumhorn said...

"the smarter, long-term investment is finding someone you genuinely like"

I know somebody white got paid to write that and - still - you guys say I don't have a reason to be pissed at America,..


hahahaha. I'm pissed that anyone got paid to write it at all. But ain't that what makes America great??

~ Krumhorn

Meade said...

"So how can you tell if a woman is kind?"

Demonstrate kindness (not to her, to someone else but in front of her) and then observe the way she reacts. Do it again. Do it a third time.

Be honest with yourself in your assessment. She needs to show an appreciation for your genuine acts of kindness.

Remember: the chemistry at 60 is different from the chemistry at 20. (I know - duh.)

Take your time. Ask yourself: What's the hurry?

And then take your time. What's the hurry?

Oso Negro said...

Dear Meade,

I have been thinking about your advice and I believe that I am going to give it a try. Thanks!

Oso

Nichevo said...

Okay, Meade. AA is one of the most relentlessly unkind people I have ever had the experience of reading. She appears to delight in pseudo -nonconformist unkindness and cruelty, sauced with incomprehending mockery and free-associative vapidity.

So are you saying that you judge to her to be kind, in which case your judgement is highly suspect, or that you don't value it?

Smilin' Jack said...

Take your time. Ask yourself: What's the hurry?

And then take your time. What's the hurry?


Aside from being dead soon, that is.

Smilin' Jack said...

The Crack Emcee said...

"the smarter, long-term investment is finding someone you genuinely like"

I know somebody white got paid to write that and - still - you guys say I don't have a reason to be pissed at America,...


Don't be fooled by the three-syllable words, Crack. It might be one of yours, trying to pass.

Meade said...

"AA is one of the most relentlessly unkind people I have ever had the experience of reading [...] So are you saying that you judge to her to be kind, in which case your judgement is highly suspect"

The suspect jugement is yours, Nichevo. Have you ever met the writer, AA, in person? You trust too much in your ability to judge people based on the words you're so sure you understand - words written on a blog.

SomeoneHasToSayIt said...



Hey, wouldn't "moneyballing" make a really great slang term for prostitution?

Meade said...

"Aside from being dead soon, that is."

In which case, instead of a girlfriend, you should probably be looking to hire a nurse.

southcentralpa said...

One thing's for certain ... if you're in the marriage market in your mid-30s, you're shopping in the "as-is" aisle.

mikee said...

I note that the players in Moneyball were not trading themselves, but rather were being manipulated by the team General Manager.

Closer to an arranged marriage than anything else, I think.

Nichevo said...

So what you're saying now Meade is that your wife is a liar?

Meade said...

So what I'm saying now Nichevo is that you are a poor reader.