[thechat] King Preaches Abstinence to Parading Maidens

[Martin Burns]

On Fri, 13 Sep 2002, Luther, Ron wrote:

>
> However, a friend once noted that people usually fit together
> like puzzle pieces from mismatched boxes.  Some areas of their lives
> dovetail very nicely, others have to be stomped on to get a crappy
> fit.  You can find a partner that is intellectually and economically
> stimulating and enjoys the same activities and pursuits you do.  They
> may have very different religeous beliefs, may not be a 'good' parent,
> and may not be stimulating sexually.  The thought was that if
> everyone could find four partners, satisfying different areas of need
> in their lives ... it would be a very interesting and possibly peaceful
> world.
>
> In that kind of situation, (and making a HUGE leap of faith about the
> maturity of society in general), then polygamy might be an interesting
> structure.

I think so, but I doubt it would work that way. I'm sure I've seen
research that people choose partners who can play roles which mirror their
family, and so would end up with partners who are similar, rather than
very different.

Cheers
Martin


---------------------------
"Names, once they are in common use, quickly
 become mere sounds, their etymology being
 buried, like so many of the earth's marvels,
 beneath the dust of habit." - Salman Rushdie