Thread

Singapore govt dating app uses Gale-Shapley stable marriage algorithm

466 points · 499 comments · rzk

purplepatrick · 1790817358 · focus · HN ↗
Cute. Of course, beyond basic deal breakers, neither do people know their preferences (but they think they do), nor do the majority of preference categories actually matter.
This is a common problem with all dating apps. Specifically, interests, hobbies, daily routines, objectives, etc. have nothing to do with compatibility.
“We like the same things!” is the compatibility signal of a naive 22-yr old…
1. alexey-salmin · 1790832058 · focus · HN ↗
  > “We like the same things!” is the compatibility signal of a naive 22-yr old…
  What signals do you suggest? Regardless of whether it's feasible to put them in the dating app.
  1. morkalork · 1790832364 · focus · HN ↗
    The OkCupid guys figured out that it was (potential) that best predicted stable relationships and everything else was just a proxy for that feature. Similar/compatible education level? Just a proxy for income. Similar/compatible hobbies? Guess what, also a proxy for income!
    hgomersall · 1790835242 · focus · HN ↗
    Or income is a proxy for, say, intelligence.
    aleph_minus_one · 1790855082 · focus · HN ↗
    > Or income is a proxy for, say, intelligence.
    It clearly isn't.
    In Germany, there is a reason why the term "akademisches Prekariat" (academic precariat/precarity) exists, meaning that people who stay in academia are often in a precarious job situation and are paid quite badly. But these people are very intelligent and well-educated.
    alexey-salmin · 1790856271 · focus · HN ↗
    It is, if you define intelligence as "how to do well in life" and not as "here are 5 ways how Germany could have won the war in 1943".
    aleph_minus_one · 1790856612 · focus · HN ↗
    > It is, if you define intelligence as "how to do well in life"
    "Intelligence" is a term that is defined very precisely in psychology (psychometrics):
    > <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G_factor_(psychometrics)" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G_factor_(psychometrics)
    alexey-salmin · 1790856954 · focus · HN ↗
    That doesn't really contradict what I said. This definition of intelligence can be useful in some contexts, but on average neither women nor capital are particularly attracted to people who have it
    aleph_minus_one · 1790860447 · focus · HN ↗
    > This definition of intelligence can be useful in some contexts, but on average neither women nor capital are particularly attracted to people who have it[.]
    This is actually a reformulation of the point that I made in <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49920421">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49920421 that income is not a proxy for intelligence. :-)

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