[devishard]

I read an article recently about a British statistician who used statistical strategies in her dating life (I can't remember her name, so having trouble Googling the article...). She recommended dating 30 people casually before even considering dating seriously. That way you get a feel for what kind of people are available in your dating pool. After dating 30 people, if you meet someone who is better than any of the first 30 then you know they're a close-to-optimal partner for you.

[joncrocks]

Sounds like an implementation of the standard 'solution' to the secretary problem - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretary_problem

[mohsinr]

In that case one has to be lucky to meet 'after' the initial phase is complete so that they have chance to be selected.

[spdionis]

Or die trying...