The mathematics of love | Hannah Fry

TED · 2.1M views · 2015-02-13 · 17:01

Open on YouTube ↗

If playback is restricted in your region, try opening the original video. Use Mark watched to add it to your marked videos.

Overview

Mathematician Hannah Fry's TED talk on patterns in dating and mate-seeking, including optimal stopping and three math-backed tips for finding a partner.

On Hacker News

Mentioned whenever the optimal stopping or secretary problem comes up in relation to choosing a partner.

Recommended by 1 HN people across 1 months · HN mentions 2021–2026

Topics

Probability & game theory Social issues & culture

What people said

balls187 · 2026-07 · Strong recommendation
Her ted talk about the math of love is so great. [VIDEO] And when she straight laughs in Michael Steven's face about the price of a pencil. [LINK]
Read the original HN comment ↗

nighthawk454 · 2021-12 · Reference
Hannah Fry has a TED Talk covers this topic as well: [VIDEO] In this framing, it's based on time/age instead of number of candidates, so you don't need to know N.
Read the original HN comment ↗

devoutsalsa · 2021-08 · Reference
This reminds me of Hannah Fry’s TED talk on the mathematics of love, specifically point #2 on how to pick the perfect partner. [1] It was basically about not committing to the very first person you meet, but also not searching for the perfect person in perpetuity. To paraphrase, you should pick reject the first two people that come along, and then commit to the first person that is better than everyone you previously dated. It’s not a perfect similarity, but I think the point of making a good faith effort a couple times and then really going for it once you understand a little bit makes sense. [1] [VIDEO]
Read the original HN comment ↗

Sources

Video by TED, played through YouTube.

HN Library · Source license

Data and selection notes

HN summaries and labels may contain AI errors. HN dates refer to discussions, not video publication.

HN Library: HackerTube export (2026-10-31) and open-index/hacker-news. Upstream summaries and classifications may contain AI errors.

Views, duration and playback status refresh separately from the published catalog. When an update fails, existing data remains visible.

Selection checks

SaaS & AI candidates: Topic keywords do not match
Editor-approved picks: Editorial review is required

Rule matches identify candidates. They do not guarantee video quality or financial results.

About the library and its sources