Monday, February 13, 2012

An algorithm will not find me Mr. Right

I have never had any idea, until very recently, that our world and many things in our world are based on algorithms. To be honest, I didn't even remember what an algorithm is and until the moment I met a colleague of mine who told me to be "not a mathematician, not a bioinformatician, but an algorithmician" (first of all, try to pronounce this word.....it is already a task!), I couldn't care less about algorithms and what we could do with them. Thanks God there is wikipedia!

Exactly...what can we do with them? basically, a lot. Algorithms will not make me a coffee in the morning (at least not for now), but they are used for a lot of things. From developing new computer games, to predict the movement of the stock market, to find your Mr. Right (or Mme Right, whatever is needed). Really? yes, really.

Enough about the algorithms that for me still remain a foreign world.
I just read an article, the sunday opinion of the New York Times, about how an algorithm, even if as we saw above they can be used to do many extraordinary things, does not guarantee finding the best mate to be happy with.

I have always doubted about the use and success of the online dating, which reminds me more of something like shopping at the supermarket than actually of anything to do with romance, but this article supports my view that not because an algorithm matches you with another person, you have an higher chance to be happy with this person than if you would meet someone at a cafe'.

I know that in the last years is getting more and more difficult to meet new interesting people without being connected (Facebook, Twitter, online dating, don'tknowwhatelsebutIamsurethereissomethingelsethatneedsaninternetconnectiontowork), but isn't at least a little bit more exciting when someone come to talk to you and you actually don't expect that (of course, I am not considering here the drunk guy who barely stands on his feet)? isn't much more fun to be out with your friends and meeting new people in this way?

For some things, I am not sure that the progress and technology improved our lives so much (and science proves it!)!

2 comments:

Portlandier said...

I agree that an algorithm will not work. If it did everyone would use it! I hated online dating because I like to meet someone and not expect it. I like romance! But I can see why I started to use it because the older we get the harder it is to meet people.

fromtheworld said...

It is completely true that the older we get, the harder is to meet people...and not only...in my case I am also pickier than when I was in my 20s.....so...even if I meet someone now, to make the cut, the guy needs to be really something. But still. Maybe because I am also shy and I can't see myself to go out with someone I don't already know...but this thing of the online dating really doesn't appeal me at all.....of course, this doesn't mean that it couldn't work for other people.