Made for each other

Computerized matchmaking can easily miss the point of marriage | Janie B. Cheaney

Illustration by Krieg Barrie

However less-than-perfect a match may be, we older married folks can at least be glad we're not having to choose a mate all over again. Meeting up today is complicated—even among Christian young people, as WORLD's June 4 cover story demonstrated. Church socials and singles hangouts just don't cut it anymore. One in six new marriages results from an internet dating site, but results are not yet in as to whether computer matching is more successful than the traditional kind.

"Looking For Someone," a recent article in The New Yorker, is a fascinating survey of how some of these programs work. OK Cupid asks subscribers to submit and answer questions that are supposed to give clues to individual personality; more questions answered over time yield a clearer picture of subjects and their ideal mates. Match.com uses algorithms to distinguish stated preferences from revealed preferences (what one actually seems to like, as opposed to what one says he or she likes) and sorts the data to find others who responded in similar ways.