Where the boys aren't

http://www.slate.com/id/2188684/

As far as I know, this blog has exactly two readers. This article on the eligible man paradox will interest one of them.

I am really unsure about the settling issue. Being single can be a lot of fun if approached with the right attitude and celbrated rather than endured, thought it is tough to take that road and still have children if that is what one wants. On the other hand, sometimes high standards are cover for not really wanting to pull the trigger and make a choice.

Of course, at bottom the really frustrating thing is that you can't convexify. You can only pick one wife or one husband (at any given time). I remember reading Richard Bach's book, I think it is "One", about his first marriage to nurse Chapel from the original Star Trek TV series. Prior to being married he had a number of female friends who were each matched to particular activities. He had convexified! He argues in the book that when he left that equilibrium to get married that he was better off, but it is hard to see how that could be, since no one person is going to be a great match for all the activies one wants to undertake (even putting aside the utility loss associated with the loss in variety). I found the book less than compelling for this reason.

This is a bit of a ramble but I have no good answer here.

Hat tip: Marginal Revolution