The Right Place Right Time Theory
I have an opinion regarding marriage partners. I could be wrong. This is what makes good theories, that they can be falsified. But nevertheless I feel there is some truth in it.
My hypothesis is that people marry whom they marry, because they were in a good relationship at the time they felt like settling down. Few people marry their secondary-school sweetheart, because you don’t want (and can’t) get married in secondary school. (Despite sickening endearments to the contrary - “mi and hubbie” and crap like that.) You hear of people who date for a bit then suddenly they’re walking down the aisle. Well, they were content with each other, wanted to set up home, and figured they’d make a good pair. So why not?
Of course, falsifying evidence comes in the form of people who start dating in high school, and date for years and years before finally getting married. Well, kudos to them for managing to maintain a healthy, loving relationship until both of them were in the marrying mood. Eh, or does that prove my theory instead?
Actual falsification would be in the “No matter what” kind of pairings, where despite crazy hardships, the couple persevere to end up together. This “Right Place Wrong Time” situation would be like, falling for someone who’s already taken, and going through huge shit like a nasty breakup and family conflict because the attraction was just so strong. Evidence for this would falsify my theory, which is based on convenience.
So to sum up, I postulate that people marry their spouses because simply, at the time they felt like getting married, they had a perfectly good candidate and decided “why not”. Nothing to do with fate, it’s more like serendipity.
If I’m in the mood for coffee and I walk past a cafe, why not? I might have walked past cafes earlier. I wasn’t thirsty or needing a caffeine fix then. Besides, one cuppa is very much like another, barring huge differences like instant vs Starbucks and stuff like that. (Nods for the coffee analogy to Vanx.) Of course, sometimes we get huge, HUGE cravings for a certain kind of coffee, with a certain kind of milk, from a certain cafe. Fine. I’m just more “I want”, and less “I must have”, you know?
Comments are open for alternative hypotheses and discussion. Go ahead and tear my argument to shreds, it’s not connected to my self-concept so I won’t break down in tears.
May 3rd, 2007 at 4:14 pm
No one has commented on your theory. You may now break down in tears.