In terms of satisfaction in life, finding your significant other is one of the most important.

We might assume that society should structure itself in a way that people can find their significant other as easy and soon as possible.

Yet, it can be quite the opposite, where searching for a significant other can be tedious, humiliating, a headache, and well, awkwardly painful. A lot of people spend years unable to find such a person, or they settle for someone they're not entirely happy with, due the cost involved in continuing the search.

The great philosophical question is, why is the search such a headache?

A significant other is highly valuable, and we could suggest that anything with such high value creates a power vacuum around it, thus creating the "headache" involved in obtaining it. Yet, water and food are also highly valuable, and yet they have no such headache attached.

Having seen wildlife films where there is not adequate water, thus, the gazelle and wildebeests are forced to drink from a river lined with crocodiles (some of which get eaten) drinking in this case, can be quite stressful. Supply and demand, our world has plenty of water and food and their world does not.

Yet, the ratio of men to women is almost equal, thus the supply equals the demand, though perhaps it is not unlimited like our supply of food and water. Also, the demand for the highest quality significant others greatly exceeds the supply, and perhaps this creates the competition that creates the "headache" involved in the search, the "headache" being natures odd way of making sure you perform your best.

If we we're to look at, the job market, we could say that supply is relative to the demand. There are approximately as many jobs available as there are people looking for them. However, everyone wants the best jobs, and so the demand for these jobs far exceeds the supply, thus creating fierce competition, while the latter end may be easy to obtain but have little demand.

Jobs in this case could equate to females, while job seekers would be equivalent to men. Just as it is difficult for an employer to approach someone with a job offer, similarly, it is difficult for a female to approach a male. Whoever obtains the job must be motivated and truly want the job, thus, employers loose power within the relationship unless it is the other side taking the risk……

The Problem and Benefits of Internet Dating.

Many employers will advertise positions in the newspaper. For anyone who's applied to positions in the newspaper, you may have found the competition much more fierce than usual, or the quality of the job not as high as you may of thought, or both.

Similarly, Internet dating is not the easiest for men. However, I would argue that both high and low quality men would have no quarrels over pursing women on the Internet if it were effective. The reason it is ineffective is because of women's disinterest.

The Risk Management of Dating

The primary concerns listed by women of Internet dating are the desire to avoid "psychos."

1) The risk of meeting a creep for a date or simply someone incompatible and the associated headache with it.

Men have little to loose by meeting a creepy girl or incompatible person on a date, therefore this is one reason why the demand exceeds the supply with regards to Internet dating.

2) Lowering of credit score. This is another topic entirely, but in summary, even though a person may want to find a significant other, by advertising it they loose power within the relationship, even at the risk of not having a relationship at all. Women always prefer to keep their credit scores higher then men's.

3) My hypothesis: The lack of risk associated with soliciting someone online is why women find it less attractive.

When an employer hires someone, there is often a large cost associated with training that employee. This cost is incentive for an employer only to hire those wanting the job most, as assurance that the job turnover rate will be kept low.

Females similarly want the pursuit of them to be costly, because this means men will only pursue those they think are worth the risk, and thus be committed.

What was our philosophical question? Why is the search such a headache?

Reason #1: Supply and Demand.
Reason #2: Because women want it to be (though you could turn that around and say it's men's fault for not being more willing to commit.)

The Spectrum of Pursuit

If Internet dating has zero risk for men, and due to reason #2 creates a demand many times over the supply, then on the other end of the spectrum we have…..

The Dragon and Princess

In this scenario, we have a princess guarded by a dragon, and only men willing to slay the dragon may get a date with the princess. This is the exact opposite of Internet dating, for it entails great risk on the part of the guy. The demand therefore will be significantly lower in proportion to the supply.

The Random Stranger

While it may be easy to approach a random business and ask for a job application, there is quite a stigma against approaching a random girl in the pursuit of a date. This type of risk falls in-between Internet dating and dragon slaying.

Within a Group of Friends

More likely to succeed than the random stranger, this entails greater risk because if it falls through you may have awkward moments ahead when hanging out with this group of friends.

Speed Dating

It's second only to Internet dating due to the lack of risk.

An Ideal World

If people could theoretically be ranked in terms of "quality", you might have 1 people, 10 people, 7.5 people, etc.

However, there are personality differences and other traits that make a pair more ideal independent of "quality."

You may then have 10x people, and 10a people, and 5g people, and 7h people, etc, etc.

Therefore, in a perfect world, the 1a's would pair up with the 1a's, and the 6t's would pair up with the 6t's, the 8i's with the 8i's, etc, etc.

The problem with the system is that the cost of meeting potential significant others is so high, it weakens the supply of potential significant others. This leads many to match their letters inappropriately, and you have 6d's paired with 6z's, or you have 8's paired with 5's, etc.

Internet or speed dating could potentially solve this problem, as the increased supply of potential significant others could better match not only to first letter, but to the second. So you would have 6bb's paired with 6bb's and 8qq's paired with 8qq's.

Take a Chance

It's not an ideal world. Rather than listing monthly reports on the "unemployment rate" society scorns you, the politically correct police and movies have instilled in you that there might just be a noose waiting for you should you take that chance.

A 7bbb female may want to find that 7bbb male, but she cannot increase the supply.

Only those with the y chromosome can do what's necessary, to take the chance of getting lynched, and increase your supply until you find someone properly matched to your letter.