June 30, 2004 - 4:58 p.m.
Really? And then what happened?
So then I told a friend about tickle and she said "oh how funny! but have you seen OKCupid.com?" No, I thought to myself, what is that? How come she knows about things I don't? Why am I always the last to know? So I wen t over there. It too is a scientific matching system. But it really is really free and you can tell because they use weird copyright-free clip art everywhere. Plus it's kind of wiki, that is to say, muc h of the content is contributed by the users. And in this way they get a lot of personality tests and questions just contributed freely from teenagers in Norway with too much time on their hands. So while one test is called "How literary are you?" the nex t is called "would UB a good GF 4 Holveig?" It's kind of cool, but what with the questions not being written by people with master's degrees or women's magazine experience, I feel a little unsure about its results. Luckily you can choose to skip questions, in case you run into a real stumper like "Are you a cat person or a dog person?" Luckily in that case you can choose both, but what if I'm really not sure? That's a big decision to enter into so hastily. So there are now hundreds of these questions and the more you answer, the more accurate your matches supposedly are. Lest you think they are matching people to their clones, they also ask you what you think your ideal mate should answer. I find myself getting quite stuck on those. Why should I hold peop le to the same standards of, for example, mathematical excellence? (eg, "which is longer, a kilometer or a mile?") And do I want my mate to be just like me? So the third part of each question is "how important is it to you that your mate answer this the w ay you want them to?" And I've found out something interesting about myself: I hardly ever care one way or the other. I'm just too easygoing? I have no preferences? I'm just desperate? I dont know what I'm looking for? I don't know, I don't really believe in "deal breakers," for the most part.
I suppose OK cupid has gotten media attention (though I have missed all of it, apparently) for what it calls "The Test." This uses four different variables to give you a four letter code, just like the Myers Briggs Type Indicator does in career evaluations. (I'm ENTP, by the way.) For OK cupid, I got RBLD, which is a Random Brutal Love Dreamer. I haven't explored what each variable is supposed to be but in cupidese this makes me a "wild rose." Wonderful but largely unplucked. (Sad but true.) It also says I'm kind of mean but that's all in the past now, right? Later I saw that the corresponding type for RBLD in a man is called "the manchild." I don't think I like that one! I'm not a manchild! Well apparently I am. T hen I kept thinking of that word and now I'm on videotape calling Steve Powers a Manchild at his art opening at Deitch Projects. Great. Oh great and now when people google that show they'll get this page. Fine, let them.
More later! This is going to be a serial just like "A Tale of Two Cities" was. You don't have the attention span anyway. Actually I am speaking for myself there.
