The benefits of being average

Imagine that attractiveness could be scored from 1 to 10, measuring everything that makes a person attractive: looks, wealth, personality, intelligence, etc.

You'd want to be a 10, right? The world would be your oyster: you could date anyone you wanted, and you'd never be lonely.

Well, maybe not ...

Sexual attraction is driven by our lizard brains, and they don't lower their standards. So if you were a 10, you probably wouldn't be attracted to anyone lower than a 9. But that's not so bad is it? Dating 9's and 10's sounds awesome.

The tyranny of the normal distribution

The problem is that 9's and 10's are pretty thin on the ground.


Many human characteristics follow a normal distribution, a.k.a. a bell curve. Intelligence does. Height does. Weight does. So it's reasonable to assume that attractiveness does too.

If that's the case, there are a lot of people rated 4, 5, 6, or 7, but relatively few rated 1, 2, 9, or 10. A quick look around a shopping center would probably confirm that!

So if you're a 10, you need to find a 9 or 10 — who's also single — and there aren't many of them around. It could be a long time between drinks.

But if you're average — a 6, say — you'll be looking for a 5, 6, or 7, and the world is full of them. You'll probably run into a bunch of them every time you go a party. Too easy.

Of course, things are hardest for the 1's and 2's. Not only are suitable partners thin on the ground, but they don't even have the option of lowering their standards for a quick fling, like a 9 or 10 does.

So don't worry if you're just average. Your chances of finding a partner are better than ... average.

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