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The management consultant’s guide to love and sex

The management consultant’s guide to love and sex

The search for the perfect life partner is a mysterious business. Can maths and spreadsheets make a difference?

Mormon polygamy as portrayed in the TV show Big Love, starring Ginnifer Goodwin, Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Chloe Sevigny, is one of many forms of successful relationship types. 

Alice Hines

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Once upon a time, there was a man who thought love was a maths problem. “Love is a capricious spark, a miraculous whirlwind,” one of his blog posts began, sarcastically. “It is found by following ancient prophecies, embarking on dangerous quests ... Something like that, who knows. Anyway, it sounds like finding a girlfriend was crazy hard before computers!”

The man’s name is Jacob. He is now 32 and works in finance, creating software that helps banks comply with regulations. He has dark, curly hair and a beard, a left eyebrow that’s often raised and, in his own words, a “dad bod”. His self-deprecating streak is tempered by optimism. “Growth mindset” is one of his favourite phrases. As in, “I’m still not bisexual, but, you know, growth mindset.”

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Original URL: https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/arts-and-culture/the-management-consultant-s-guide-to-love-and-sex-20200323-p54czb