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NARRATOR: Like so many other
aspects of modern life,
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the search for a partner has gone online.
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People everywhere are
liking, swiping, winking,
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in the hopes of finding a match for life,
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or at least for the night.
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Dating apps take into account
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location, age, similar
interests listed in profiles.
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But the core of the mystique is,
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how do these apps figure out how desirable
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you personally might be to a
potential match and vice versa?
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This is Algorithmics, the
space where we explore
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how invisible computer
controlled database sets of rules
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are making decisions for us every day.
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Let's start with OkCupid,
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which relies heavily on
a series of questions
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to see how well two people match up.
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OkCupid is pretty transparent
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about how they calculate
match percentages.
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They think of this equation
as the probability,
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two people will get along,
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and it's calculated based on questions
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both of you have chosen to answer.
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For each question, OkCupid asks
you to provide three things,
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your own answer, how you'd
like your match to answer
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and how important the question is to you,
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from irrelevant to very important.
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OkCupid assigns numerical
values to these ideas
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on a scale of zero to 250,
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and the algorithm assesses
how much your matches answers
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made you happy and vice versa.
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[gentle upbeat music]
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So if your matches answers
earned 250 out of 251
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possible points based on your preferences,
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that's 99.6% satisfactory.
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The same calculation is
done for your answers,
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compared to your matches preferences.
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Multiply these two satisfaction numbers,
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take the square root and
that's your match percentage.
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The more questions you answer,
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the more data the
algorithm has to work with,
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and the more confident it becomes
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in the matches it presents to you.
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Then there's Tinder, which prides itself
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on not requiring a 400
question registration process.
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But Tinder is much more
closed mouth than OkCupid
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about how it calculates matches.
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Tinder's co-founder did
reveal to a fast company
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that each user has a
secret numerical rating,
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what the company internally
calls an Elo score.
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If a lot of people swipe right on you
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saying they like your profile
and want to match with you
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versus swiping left to
skip to the next person,
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your score will go up.
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Each swipe is like a vote.
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This person is more
desirable than that one.
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Tinder insists that this isn't
an attractiveness rating,
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desirability involves what you wrote
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in your profile for example.
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The company also says a lot of factors
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besides swiping affect your Elo score.
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A bit like love, the rest is a mystery.
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Every dating app works
slightly differently,
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but whichever you think gives you
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the best chance at finding love,
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this Valentine's Day,
remember that your ideal match
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might very well be the algorithm.
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[gentle upbeat music]
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