Half your age + X rule for dating... Does it really hold, and how well? Opinions?

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ParkourMcGhee

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Jan 4, 2008
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So I was THAT curious about what it would exactly look like, that I made the graph in matlab - the lower age being the lowest age you're "allowed to date" and the top being the "top age that will date you".


So far I've managed to skirt the top blue line, but haven't actually gone lower than around the mid point.

What do escapists think, is this a fair representation? Should I tweak the graph some more for a better correlation?

Obviously there aren't any 185 year olds to keep the 100 year olds company, but you get the gist

For those of you who have matlab, here's the (surprisingly short) script if you want it.
%x = your age, l = age of partner min, u = age of partner max
x = 0.01:0.01:100;
l = x/2+6;
u = (x-6)*2;
ur = (x-7)*2;
lr = x/2+7;
plot(x,u,'-b',x,l,'-b',x,lr,'-r',x,ur,'-r')
set(gca,'XTick',[0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100])
set(gca,'YTick',[0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110 115 120 125 130 135 140 145 150 155 160 165 170 175 180 185 190])
 

Asehujiko

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Feb 25, 2008
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According to your graph, a 57+100 match up is ok, whereas a 15+18 is not. Needs some work methinks.
 

FamoFunk

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Mar 10, 2010
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RAKtheUndead said:
The idea that 12- or 14-year-olds should be dating is in itself repugnant enough to invalidate the rule. Anybody dating under 18 in today's society should be ashamed.
Under 18... really?
Yea, 12 is stupid as it'll never last and is just silly. But to say a 17yo should be ashamed that they're dating o_O
 

JB1528

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Mar 17, 2009
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RAKtheUndead said:
The idea that 12- or 14-year-olds should be dating is in itself repugnant enough to invalidate the rule. Anybody dating under 18 in today's society should be ashamed.
Under 18? Wow that's extremely closed minded. While I agree that dating at 12 is too young, most teens start dating around 14-15. Which is alright with most of society.
 

Lilani

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May 27, 2009
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RAKtheUndead said:
The idea that 12- or 14-year-olds should be dating is in itself repugnant enough to invalidate the rule. Anybody dating under 18 in today's society should be ashamed.
I wouldn't be so sure about that. Marrying at under age 18 may be crazy, but let them have their fun. My brother started dating the woman who is how his wife when he was about 15. Seven years later, they wed.
 

Jonluw

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Bigfootmech said:
For those of you who have matlab, here's the (surprisingly short) script if you want it.
%x = your age, l = age of partner min, u = age of partner max
x = 0.01:0.01:100;
l = x/2+6;
u = (x-6)*2;
ur = (x-7)*2;
lr = x/2+7;
plot(x,u,'-b',x,l,'-b',x,lr,'-r',x,ur,'-r')
set(gca,'XTick',[0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100])
set(gca,'YTick',[0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110 115 120 125 130 135 140 145 150 155 160 165 170 175 180 185 190])
What is that stuff? Plotting in all that looks extremely tiresome. May I recommend Geogebra [http://www.geogebra.org/cms/en]?
Personally, I think having rules for whom you can date and not is unnecessary. Intuition would be better I say. Take it on a case by case basis.
 

Smooth Operator

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Oct 5, 2010
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RAKtheUndead said:
The idea that 12- or 14-year-olds should be dating is in itself repugnant enough to invalidate the rule. Anybody dating under 18 in today's society should be ashamed.
I absolutely agree!
I'm saying let's go one better and cut everyone's genitals off at birth!

Ah such sweet absurdity
 

AngloDoom

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Aug 2, 2008
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RAKtheUndead said:
The idea that 12- or 14-year-olds should be dating is in itself repugnant enough to invalidate the rule. Anybody dating under 18 in today's society should be ashamed.
...Ashamed of what?

I think it's better people start experimenting and come to terms with their own sexuality whenever it feels right. Some people develop faster than others so it's silly putting a tag on it...especially one so high.

If people don't get jealousy issues and have their kiss by eighteen, we'll see a lot of confused young adults.
 

Ca3zar416

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Sep 8, 2010
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I think the rule probably needs a degree of fixing along with some if and or statements for it to work but whatever.
 

Ca3zar416

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Bigfootmech said:
Personally, I think having rules for whom you can date and not is unnecessary. Intuition would be better I say. Take it on a case by case basis.
Curse you I was going to post that.
 

Pariah87

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RAKtheUndead said:
The idea that 12- or 14-year-olds should be dating is in itself repugnant enough to invalidate the rule. Anybody dating under 18 in today's society should be ashamed.
I have to say I always seem to notice your posts, possibly because in some respects we are very similar but to say dating under 18 is wrong?

I bet I can take a stab as to why you think it's wrong aswell...because you didn't do it. I get it, I hate seeing couples because nature blessed me with a shrek like appearance and the temperament of a Krogan, relationships are something that I just cannot seem to find myself in. So yeah, we get bitter.

As you mention in your later post though, you had those urges before 18 the same as virtually everybody else bar non-sexuals and if we had been able to act on them, even now if we could act on them, we wouldn't see anything wrong with anyone dating ever.

We are in the minority, just because we were denied something nearly all teens or young adults take for granted, doesn't mean we shouldn't allow it to happen at all. That's like taking away a kids toy and saying "I wasn't allowed this toy, so you can't have it either!"
 

AngloDoom

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Aug 2, 2008
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RAKtheUndead said:
FamoFunk said:
Yea, 12 is stupid as it'll never last and is just silly. But to say a 17yo should be ashamed that they're dating o_O
JB1528 said:
Under 18? Wow that's extremely closed minded. While I agree that dating at 12 is too young, most teens start dating around 14-15. Which is alright with most of society.
We're no longer living in the Middle Ages. Instead of lifespans usually cut short in the region of one's forties, we live in an era where the average lifespan has shot up to the seventies or eighties. There is no longer an excuse for early carnal knowledge in a society where people live that long.

AngloDoom said:
...Ashamed of what?

I think it's better people start experimenting and come to terms with their own sexuality whenever it feels right. Some people develop faster than others so it's silly putting a tag on it...especially one so high.

If people don't get jealousy issues and have their kiss by eighteen, we'll see a lot of confused young adults.
And if we can put their efforts into something more productive, I'd be all for that. I'd have personally been far more productive during my teenage years being devoid of sexual urges. Luckily, I managed to restrain them - although at the profound cost in efficiency that this indicates.
The thing is, what better time is there to make stupid immature mistakes then when you're a child? You said it yourself, we live a long time, we've got a long time to be responsible and settle down. If we spend eighteen years getting to know ourselves, surely the first eighteen when we can afford to make these mistakes would be the most opportune?

I agree from a cold hard logic point that it would be better for all of us if on our 18th birthdays we suddenly gained those urges, but that doesn't happen. Spending so long repressing your sexual exploits can't be worth the gain in extra hours of studying, in my opinion.

I'd much prefer a society full of primal humans than advanced robots.
 

Zykon TheLich

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I've always thought it was a bit stupid really, if you are sticking rules like that onto who you go out with then... I don't know, but you just get a general look of contempt and a rolleyes from me.
If someone feels too young or old for you then they probably aren't right for you but if you feel right with them then it doesn't really matter if they are outside of some stupid line in the sand. Nothing wrong with an 18 year old going out with a 30 year old.

Also nothing wrong with relationships with under 18's as long as you're not much older, in this case I feel the +4 or 5 rule might be about right (i.e. the elder partner should be no more than 4 or 5 years older than the younger) although I lean towards 4. Can't think why they should be ashamed or why they need an "excuse" for "carnal knowledge".
 

Raven's Nest

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Feb 19, 2009
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Okay your graph isn't really all that clear...

What's the feeling on a 23 year old guy dating a 17 year old girl? Both at same level of education...

I'm thinking it's pretty borderline, but just out of curiosity what do you guys/girls think?