Ah maths. We all have either good or bad memories of this subject from your years at school and although some people made it pretty clear that they thought maths would be useless in the future, it seems they were wrong.
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A team of American researchers developed a theory in 2015 based on a study commissioned by MSN. They wanted to find the precise mathematical formula that could be used to find ‘eternal love’. Although this task seemed impossible at first, they nevertheless managed to do it.
Several researchers used responses from a survey conducted with 2,000 men and women. They were all asked to describe their idea of love, as well as list the character traits and behaviour that they felt were important for a relationship to be successful, as well as revealing the number of partners they had had over the course of their lifetime.
Using this information, they were able to create their own equation which, ultimately, would be able to determine how long a relationship would last. If the duration found was defined as ‘indefinite’, then you know you’ve found the one.
The magic formula is…
This probably isn't going to make much sense to you, especially if you haven’t done maths for a few years, but don’t worry. Here is the formula:
L = 8 + 5Y - 2P + 9Hm +3Mf + J - 3g - 0.5 (Sm - Sf) 2 + I + 1.5C
To help you understand the calculation, here is what every letter means:
- L: The unknown that we are looking for, i.e. how long the relationship will last
- Y: How long the two people knew each other (in years) before becoming a couple
- P: The number of previous partners of both partners combined
- Hm: The importance that men attach to honesty in their relationship on a scale from 1 to 5 (1 = not important, 5 = very important)
- Mf: The importance that women attach to money in relationships on a scale from 1 to 5
- J: The importance that both partners place on humour on a scale from 1 to 5 (combined)
- g: The importance that the couple places on appearance and looks (combined)
- Sm and Sf: The importance that the man and woman place on sex on a scale from 1 to 5
- I: The importance attached to having good in-laws on a scale from 1 to 5 (results added together)
- C: The importance given to children in the relationship on a scale from 1 to 5 (combined)
Don’t worry, if you take your time, you should be fine.
So, 3 months, 5 years or for life?
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