Any 25+ year olds here who've never been in a romantic relationship?

[jasong]

Originally Posted by Xyzzy

Perhaps there is an inverse relationship between a person's education level and the number of offspring they have?

Or maybe math nerds do not get many dates?

Male nerds have happier wives than male non-nerds, at least when they manage to marry. This has been statistically proven. And when I say nerd, I'm pretty sure the poll was connected to educated people.

The important thing to consider when we talk about smart people having fewer offspring is that things like the Large Hadron Collider probably need trillions of dollars of infrastructure to exist before people are willing to even consider investing in something like the LHC. And this is true for all scientific endeavors that don't involve the person spending their own money.

I don't need to know a whole heck of a lot about a DNA helix to realize it might be a good idea to throw $5 towards studying it, but you might need 100 thousand people having the same thought before you can make any progress.

I guess what I'm trying to say is,"Don't dis the less intelligent, since they might be the reason you can do what you want to do."

[retina]

Originally Posted by Xyzzy

An engineering student is walking along when a fellow student arrives on a new bicycle. Impressed, he asks, "Where did you got this beautiful bicycle?" "Well," the second engineering student says, "A couple of days ago I was just walking along when this georgeous[sic] blonde pulls up, hops off the bike, rips off all her clothes, and says 'take what you want'." The other engineering student nods and says "Good choice. The clothes probably wouldn't have fit."

And since they are now ripped the clothes would only have been suitable as rags.

But seriously, without the wimminz in your lives do you have to send thank you cards to your hands?

Going back to the first post: If you are constantly worried about someone leaving you then clearly you have trust issues. Your partner will detect your lack of trust and then they will leave you, so you end up with a self fulfilling prophecy. Just accept that people may betray you and deal with it when it happens. It is no big deal. Enjoy what you have now. Anyone who has ever had a pet knows that eventually they will "leave" (i.e. die) but that doesn't stop people enjoying the relationship in the meantime.

[The Carnivore]

Originally Posted by 23Chaos23

In reality we all had a relationship with someone from day one, and thats yourself.

You mean this?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...y-herself.html
http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/woma...ry?id=28575144

[masser]

Originally Posted by Nick

Linear algebra is not a particularly romantic part of mathematics.

Says you.

[Nick]

Originally Posted by masser

Says you.

Indeed, romance is subjective.

But they to him were denizens of Romance, who must keep to the corner he had assigned them, pictures that must not walk out of their frames.

- from Howards End (by E.M. Forster).

[MooMoo2]

Originally Posted by retina

But seriously, without the wimminz in your lives do you have to send thank you cards to your hands?

Whether you're with someone or not, be thankful for your hands. Just ask a hand amputee how they feel

Going back to the first post: If you are constantly worried about someone leaving you then clearly you have trust issues. Your partner will detect your lack of trust and then they will leave you, so you end up with a self fulfilling prophecy. Just accept that people may betray you and deal with it when it happens.

I went to New Zealand earlier this month and went bungee jumping, among other things. I completely trusted the pilots and aircraft mechanics to get me there and back safely and had no hesitation or fear in getting onto the plane. I trusted the bungee operators to use the right bungee cord for my weight and to regularly inspect the cords so that they wouldn't break.

Bungee jumping is well within my risk tolerance, but BASE jumping is a bit outside of it. The odds of dying in a BASE jump is approximately 1 in 2300, and the odds of being moderately or seriously injured is approximately 1 in 1000. It's probably the most dangerous sport in the world, but the odds of a marriage ending in a bitter divorce is an order of magnitude higher than the odds of getting injured or killed in a dozen BASE jumps. The fatality rate of a romantic relationship (suicides, being killed by an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend) is almost certainly much higher than the fatality rate of a tandem skydive (1 in ~250,000). And yet, many people who eagerly jump into a romantic relationship (pun intended) are uncomfortable stepping onto a plane, let alone jumping out of one.

But risk and trust aren't the main issues. Even if you could guarantee that your significant other will never leave you, what benefits can that person give you that cannot be obtained by any other method? Suppose you like surfing. If you want to surf, go to the beach. You don't need a girlfriend or boyfriend for that. If you want accompaniment or someone to admire your skills, go with some friends and/or family and show them your videos. If you want to improve your skills and be safe, take classes and make sure a lifeguard is nearby. If the waves are too choppy or calm to surf, having a girlfriend or boyfriend won't change the situation. If you're too lazy to do all of the housework, want to live with someone, and/or want to share living expenses, hire a maid or get a roommate. And if you want the sex, most escorts are cheaper, safer, and more reliable.

I know a few single guys who were hospitalized due to severe injuries, infections, or illnesses. They felt bad, but they said it was nice to be visited by friends, relatives, and even co-workers. Their ex-girlfriends never checked in on them.

Anyone who has ever had a pet knows that eventually they will "leave" (i.e. die) but that doesn't stop people enjoying the relationship in the meantime.

Even though a pet will usually die before you do, they will be loyal to you or indifferent at worst. Pets sometimes alert their owners of dangers, save their lives, and even travel hundreds of miles to be reunited with them. Unless severely abused, a pet will almost never attack you, betray you, or do something for the sole purpose of making you feel bad. The same is not true in a romantic relationship.

[Nick]

Wikipedia has a decent attempt at summarizing intimacy here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intimate_relationship

For anyone interested in pursuing the psychological theory of attachment and the ways in which it can go wrong, look up the work of John Bowlby and/or Mary Ainsworth.

[Brian-E]

Here's quite an interesting new article about asexuality and the very recent move towards asexual people achieving recognition.
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/2016...-sexual-desire

It's true that the original subject of this thread was aromanticism, not asexuality, but this article also explores the links and differences between these concepts to an extent. Since, in addition, at least one key contributor here has said that asexuality might describe them, I thought maybe the article might fit this thread.

[ixfd64]

I'm almost 31 and have never been in a real relationship either. Pretty sad, right?

[chalsall]

Originally Posted by ixfd64

I'm almost 31 and have never been in a real relationship either. Pretty sad, right?

Not necessarily. It depend on what you want, what you need, and what you can provide.

I have personally found that partnering with others can be advantageous to all parties, so long as everyone understands the agreed terms and don't have unrealistic expectations.

[Uncwilly]

Do cell mates count?