WHAT?

MAY 01, 2003

The Mathematics of Marriage (Dynamic Nonlinear Models)

True to stereotype, researchers find, women tend to be more sensitive to moods and the ebb and flow of intimacy. In one study, psychologists had a group of graduate students living with a partner tape their conversations at the end of each day. Almost always, the woman tried to prompt conversation, by asking things like, "Anything interesting happen to you today?" or "Who'd you talk to?" or "Tell me what you're thinking." The men tended to go monosyllabic, parrying these attempts with a variety of grunts, "yups" and "nopes."

Jane: So. What did you have for lunch today?

Most days:
Cass: Ate off the truck.
Jane: What? Spaghetti and meatballs?
Cass: Yup.

Other days:
Cass: Too busy.
Jane: What? Ate off the truck?
Cass: Yup.

Mathematics. Uncanny.