Decoding the Algorithm of Attraction: How Dating Sites Use Math to Find Your Match

Ever wondered how dating sites manage to pair you with potential partners? It's not just random chance; it's a carefully crafted algorithm at work. These algorithms dissect the complexities of human attraction into manageable data points, using your answers to personal questions to predict compatibility. Let's delve into the fascinating world of dating site algorithms and uncover the math behind finding love.

The Essence of an Algorithm

At its core, an algorithm is simply a systematic, step-by-step method for solving a problem. Computers excel at these processes, making algorithms essential in our digital age. In the context of online dating, the challenge is to translate the abstract concept of human attraction into something a computer can understand and work with.

Gathering the Data: Questions and Answers

The first step in creating a matching algorithm is collecting data. Dating sites achieve this by asking users a range of questions, from lighthearted inquiries like "Do you like scary movies?" to more profound topics such as "Do you believe in God?" These questions serve multiple purposes:

• Matching Like with Like: Identifying shared interests and preferences.
• Understanding Relationship Dynamics: Gauging potential compatibility based on desired traits in a partner.
• Assessing Importance: Determining the significance of each question to the user's overall compatibility.

The Three Dimensions of Data

To gain a comprehensive understanding of each user, dating sites collect three key pieces of information for every question:

1. Your Answer: Your personal response to the question.
2. Desired Answer: The answer you're looking for in a potential match.
3. Importance: How crucial the question is to your overall compatibility, ranging from irrelevant to mandatory.

Calculating Compatibility: The Match Percentage

With all the necessary data in hand, the algorithm crunches the numbers to determine a match percentage – a mathematical representation of how well two people are likely to get along. Here's a simplified example of how this calculation might work:

Example Scenario

Let's consider two questions:

1. How messy are you? (Answers: Very messy, Average, Very organized)
2. Do you like to be the center of attention? (Answers: Yes, No)

You:

• Answered "Very organized," want someone else to answer "Very organized," and the question is very important to you (50 points).
• Answered "No," want someone else to answer "No," and the question is a little important to you (1 point).

Potential Match (B):

• Answered "Very organized," is okay with "Average" as an answer from someone else, and the question is a little important to him (1 point).
• Answered "Yes," wants someone else to answer "No," and the question is somewhat important to him (10 points).

The Calculation

1. How much did B's answers satisfy you?
   • B got the first question right (50 points) and the second question wrong (0 points).
   • Total: 50 out of 51 possible points = 98% satisfactory.
2. How much did you satisfy B?
   • You satisfied B on the second question (10 points) but not the first (0 points).
   • Total: 10 out of 11 possible points = 91% satisfactory.
3. Overall Match Percentage:
   • Multiply the two scores: 98% * 91% = 0.8918
   • Take the square root (since there are two questions): √0.8918 = 94%

In this example, your match percentage with B would be 94%.

The Geometric Mean

The algorithm uses the geometric mean (multiplying the scores and taking the nth root) to combine the match percentages. This method is ideal for combining values with wide ranges and different properties, ensuring that mutual affection is prioritized. Two people satisfying each other 50% is considered a better match than one person satisfying the other 100% while receiving nothing in return.

Algorithms in Everyday Life

The ability to translate real-world phenomena into something a computer can understand is a valuable skill. Just as sentences tell a story to a person, algorithms tell a story to a computer. By understanding the language of algorithms, you can unlock the potential to create and innovate in countless ways.

Tags: Dating, Algorithms, Relationships