Posted on 08/12/2007 4:17:18 AM PDT by Pharmboy
EVERYONE knows men are promiscuous by nature. It’s part of the genetic strategy that evolved to help men spread their genes far and wide.
Surveys bear this out.
One survey, recently reported by the federal government, concluded that men had a median of seven female sex partners. Women had a median of four male sex partners.
But there is just one problem, mathematicians say. It is logically impossible...those survey results cannot be correct.
It is about time for mathematicians to set the record straight, said David Gale, an emeritus professor of mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley.
...is not and cannot be true for purely logical reasons,” Dr. Gale said.
He even provided a proof:
“By way of dramatization, we change the context slightly and will prove what will be called the High School Prom Theorem. We suppose that on the day after the prom, each girl is asked to give the number of boys she danced with. These numbers are then added up giving a number G. The same information is then obtained from the boys, giving a number B.
Theorem: G=B
Proof: Both G and B are equal to C, the number of couples who danced together at the prom. Q.E.D.”
“This is what is reported,” Ms. Fryar said. “The reason why they report it I do not know.”
Dr. Gale said...Something like a prostitute effect, he said, “would be negligible.” The most likely explanation, by far, is that the numbers cannot be trusted.
Ronald Graham, a professor of mathematics and computer science at the University of California, San Diego, agreed ...raising the question of where all those extra partners might be.
“Some might be imaginary,” Dr. Graham said. “Maybe two are in the man’s mind and one really exists.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
You guys tell the truth, dontcha??
Whole lotta you guys ain't gettin' any.
EVERYONE knows men are promiscuous by nature. It’s part of the genetic strategy that evolved to help men spread their genes far and wide.
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really? so how come the men and women who are actually having kids are monogamous?
Actually, one explanation reported in the article for mismatch between men and women relates to your comment about sailors, to wit, that men who go to prostitutes or see women outside of this country skew the data since those two groups of women are transparent to the survey. However, the math brains say no way is that an explanantion since the effect would be negligible.
There certainly are significant numbers of monagamous men as there are significant numbers of multi-partner as well as married and cheatin’ men.
Well, if the respondents are lying, then that’s the point the article makes.
The math is better explained this way:
Total number of men X “dances” per man = Total number of women X “dances per woman.
Since it takes two to tango, the number of dances is the same.
An example. Three men and two women. Each man dances twice with each woman.
3X2=6 for the men; 2X3=6 for the women.
The number of dances will remain the same - using the median figure.
So if the men report 4 dances each and the women 2.. somebody is lying.
Their are various other factors like partners outside the country... that are mentioned in the article and thread.
The truth? I think some guys probably exaggerate, but I know that women definitely minimize. On the extreme, I once dated a girl who said (with a straight face) that she considered herself a vigin again if she went a year without sex. I also think girls compartmentalize one night stands (ONS)—some may not count sex unless it is part of a real relationship. I know one girl who “couldn’t recall” our ONS when I ran into her years later, even though I know it took place. It of it too may also be the definition of sex. Guys may consider oral sex to be sex, but women might not. This also gets into the exaggeration part if the question specifically covers intercourse.
It’s obvious why Prof. Gale ain’t gettin any.
Times reporter doesn’t know the difference between a mathematical median and an average.
on the day after the prom, each girl is asked to give the number of boys she danced with. These numbers are then added up giving a number G. The same information is then obtained from the boys, giving a number B.Theorem: G=BThat is correct. But the article does not refer to particular men and women but to statistics about men and about women. If the assertion were that the average per man was greater than the average per woman, the proof above would invalidate the data, because the average number of dances per man is just the total number of dancing couples divided by the number of men, likewise for women, and we implicitly assume that the number of men approximately equals the number of women.Proof: Both G and B are equal to C, the number of couples who danced together at the prom. Q.E.D.”
However, if the number of women were double the number of men, the average woman would have half the number of partners at the dance as the average man did. This would cover the case of sailors for whose universe the number of women is greater than the number of men.
And the use of the median to characterize each group completely invalidates the comparison, since if (as you point out) one woman danced with all the men, and if all the men danced only with a single woman other than that "promiscuous" woman, the median woman would (number of women exceeding 2) dance with one man, while the median man would (number of men exceeding 2) dance with two women.
IMHO these mathematicians need to check their "logic."
It just means that the underlying distribution of partners is quite different between men and women, hence the diffences between the two central tendencies (mean and median).
A whole bunch of people missing my humor this morning...
You know it’s a slow news week when a post with the word “sex” in the title only gets 20 responses.
Young, attractive women lie big time, even to themselves. The honest ones will admit to dozens of ONS encounters - they have unlimited opportunity, and a boundless ability to rationalize the acts. They simply don't think those encounters count as anything serious.
Some people talks about it and some people does it.
You wrote:
“Wow...those scientists ought to come to this country...7 would be a median per week...this place is Sodom and Gomorrah.”
Well, with an endorsement like that and the picture in your profile, those scientists might think that’s the best offer they’ve ever had!
Yes, I actually mean that as a compliment. Please don’t shoot me!
“Some might be imaginary,” Dr. Graham said. “Maybe two are in the man’s mind and one really exists.”
Or, maybe the women are not counting the one time encounters when they were drunk, out of state on spring break, etc.
That’s a bit depressing! Shalom.
<-- (couple o'near misses)
I’ve been with a range of women, from those whose face I’d like to put on a t-shirt, to those I’d deny the I’d ever met. The good looking women tend to be more choosey (at least where I was concerned). It seems (to me) like the not so good looking ones are the ones with the most partners because they are less discriminating. In fact, I had a number of “5’s” tell me that they’re more apt to have sex because they often don’t know when the next one is coming from (kinda like guys in that way). Another observation is that a lot of women cheat on their boyfriends—even devotion + an engagement ring is not a deterrent.
One thing for sure: men and women deserve each other.
Peter S. Bearman*
Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy
Columbia University
James Moody
Department of Sociology
Ohio State University
Katherine Stovel
Department of Sociology
University of Washington
RESEARCHERS MAP THE SEXUAL NETWORK OF AN ENTIRE HIGH SCHOOL
http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/chains.htm
Map: High School Hookups
http://discovermagazine.com/2007/jul/map-high-school-hookups/article_print
A Snapshot of Teen Sex
http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1022618,00.html
Are you serious, or are you just joking (I assume your statement is about Israel)?
Consider the simple proposition that 100 men and 100 women attend the dance and that 90 women dance with only one partner (keep it clean, folks!) and that the 10 prettiest girls each have one dance with each of the 100 males. Assume further that there are 1,000 dances between the monogamous pairings and 1,000 dances between the ten comely women and each of the 100 men (another 1,000 dances).
The result would be for each male to dance 1,010 times and having a total of 11 partners and each female dancing 1,000 times with 90 of them having one partner and 10 of them having 100 partners.
Thus, the average (all, in this case) male would have had 11 partners and the average female 10.1 — but 100% of the males would have had 11 partners and 90% of the women would have had only one (and 10% of the women would have had 100 partners)!!! 90 of the women would dance half the time (no doubt sitting out because of a “headache”). Each of the males would dance 1010 times (about half the time, too — no doubt recovering their energies).
B=G? I think not!
Thanks...good info.
You're kidding, right? Only limp-wristed men are monagamous.
LOL!! I knew I could “count” on you...
Not if the guys don't dance to each song. Same with sex.
I don’t understand..
Doesn’t matter whether they dance to each song, just how many each reports.
Okay, lets say you have 4 guys and 4 gals at a dance. On dance #1, Guy 1 dances with Gal 1. The other guys don't bother asking the other gals. Dance #2, Guy 1 dances with gal 2. Again, guys 2,3,4 go out for a smoke and don't dance. Dance #3, guy 1 asks gal 3 to dance. Guys 2,3,4 go out for a shot of whiskey, and don't dance. Dance #4, guy 1 asks gal 4 to dance. Guys 2,3,4 go outside to smoke a bone.
Scorecard: The guy had 4 gals. Each gal had 1 guy. get it now?
Seems like the 10 prettiest girls would be darn well worn out by the time the dance was over.
But the total is the same.
1 guy times four dances = 4
Four girls times one dance = 4
Serious...unfortunately...
Tel Aviv is the one night stand and meaningless sex capital of the world.
Just try and find someone who wants a serious relationship in this country...except the ultra-orthodox.
We’re talking, 18 yr old kids have more than passed that 7 partner mark, and many doubled it, or more.
.
Some people talks about it and some people does it.
ROFLMBO!
What is the name of the alternate universe you inhabit?
Whenever a society is under threat of war or actually involved in a war promiscuous sex is common. During the American Revolution, sex was easy.
I’m not even a promiscuous blip on that study’s radar, so to speak. I am the abstinent eternally-chivalrous optimist, looking for Miss Right and I am going to make a wife of her one of these days.
Meanwhile, there are no divorces, no one night stands, no clinics, no AIDS, no child support, no baggage, no complex visitation relationships, no pregnancies, no abortions in my past—by the grace of God.
Ari—great point about the monogamous relationships being the ones propagating!
As regards the survey’s main question, my observation is that *typically*, the more guys brag about their exploits—the less exploits they have. Yeah, talk about Darwinian chest-beating all you want. In reality, it’s projection and self-promotion that would be unnecessary in the context of the authentic relationships women crave.
Most girls, at least those who are older than Britney and Lindsay, DO NOT want reputations as “easy,” with a few ribald exceptions. Women thrive on commitment, security and being cherished for a lifetime, not being conquered after dinner-and-a-movie.
There’s your romance.
Ping to 45 FYI.
Those with multiple sex partners are not getting kids out of those ‘relationships.’ They use birth control or abort. Or the woman who has the kid is dumped, becomes a single mom and doesn’t have any more kids.
The answer is that women lie and men don’t need to. There is enough sex going on that men can report honestly without feeling like they haven’t had enough partners, and women have had more partners than they will report.
Great post! I wish you weren’t too old for my daughters!
thanks for also pointing out that promiscuity leads to all these diseases that wipe out the population. Not exactly the best way to spread genes
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