數學家發明求婚公式 算出最佳求婚時間

Worried your boyfriend is never going to propose? Then buy him a cAlculator.

Mathematicians have come up with a 'fiancee formula' that allows men to work out the perfect time to pop the question.

All he needs is the age he would first consider marrying and hiscut-off point - and the equation does the rest.

Maths professor Anthony Dooley said: 'Applying maths to matters of the heart is always dangerous. In life you are dealing with emotions and have to think much harder.

'But if you want to work out the right moment to start getting serious, this gives you a mathematical framework.'

The formula is based on a statistical technique known as optimal stopping - or the best time to do something.

Professor Dooley's colleague, Professor Bruce Brown, said the formula was a 'reasonable approach' unwittingly followed by many young men, including himself.

Writing in the third person, he said: 'As for the author, he can tell you that, looking back and doing some calculations, he did follow the marriage solution, albeit by accident, and it has worked out perfectly.'

The formula was devised with men in mind but could equally apply to women, including those uncertain about whether to accept a proposal. It could also help nervous men calculate when to avoid the ultimate commitment.

But those who find they have passed the optimal age for proposing should not panic - simply pop the question to the next good prospect who comes along.

Professor Dooley, of New South Wales University in Sydney, added: 'Probability isn't the most romantic basis for a marriage but while the formula won't fit everyone it does seem to fit a lot of couples, whether through accident or design.'

擔心男友不向你求婚？給他買個計算器吧！

日前，數學家研究出一個“求婚公式”，讓男士們可以計算出求婚的最佳時間。

在計算過程中，只需提供最初考慮結婚的年齡和最遲結婚期限，剩下的都交給公式來處理。

數學教授安東尼•杜利說：“把數學運用到感情問題中通常不保險。在生活中，你得處理感情問題，而且需要更仔細地思量。

“但如果你想算出最佳結婚時間，這個公式可爲你提供一個參考。”

該公式基於一個被稱爲“最優停止”的統計學技術，可計算出做某事的最佳時間。

杜利教授的同事布魯斯•布朗教授說，該公式是一個“合理的方法”，很多年輕男士都在不知不覺中遵循着這一公式，包括他本人。

杜利教授在研究報告中以第三人稱寫道：“至於作者，他可以告訴你，回過頭去看看，再做番計算，他的確遵循了這一婚姻公式——儘管是偶然的巧合，而且應用得很完美。”

儘管這一公式是爲男士設計的，但對女士同樣適用，比如那些正在猶豫是否接受求婚的女性。該公式還可以幫助緊張不安的男士計算出避免求婚的時間。

不過發現自己已經錯過最佳求婚年齡的人也不要恐慌——就直接向下一個可能結爲連理的對象求婚吧。

悉尼新南威爾士大學的杜利教授說：“概率不是婚姻最爲浪漫的基礎，但儘管這一公式不適用於每一個人，它確實適用於很多夫妻，不論是巧合還是精心設計的。”

Vocabulary:

cut-off point: 截止點

albeit: although 儘管；雖然

optimal: most desirable possible under a restriction expressed or implied 最佳的；最適宜的