Matt Gaetz.
Being nominated to head the DOJ is such sweet revenge after they came after me for “sex trafficking.” The general wisdom concerning age gap dating is to halve one’s age and subtract seven. I’m 42 and have almost never betrayed this general maxim over the last 10 years
I think that’s a fake tweet — it comes off Twitter, which is a pretty unreliable source. But still, it’s a funny jab at the horrible Gaetz, who, if he actually used that formula would think it acceptable for him to date 14 year olds, and “almost never” anyone younger.
The joke did make me wonder about where that “general wisdom” comes from. Do people actually do simple algebra to figure out who they should date? Is there actually a formula floating about?
I found a source. To put it in perspective, the first thing on that page is a calculator to figure out the age difference between two people: you type in your age, and your date’s age, and it subtracts one from the other to get the difference.
The universal formula for calculating an age difference is:
Age Difference = |Age 1 – Age 2|
Now that we know how smart the audience for this calculator is, they explain the “rule of seven,” which is not a rule, but only a tool for rationalizing kiddie-chasing.
A common rule for the maximum and minimum age one is supposed to date is the so-called “rule of seven”. It sets boundaries based on the age of one of the partners, and can be applied both ways. It goes as such: to define the minimum age of a partner, half your age and add seven. E.g. if you are thirty years old, calculate 30 / 2 + 7 = 15 + 7 = 22, or an age gap of 8 years would be acceptable in this direction).
To find the maximum socially acceptable age for a partner, subtract seven from your own age, then multiply it by two. For example, if you are 30 years of age, calculate (30 – 7) * 2 = 23 * 2 = 46 years or an age difference of 16 years would be acceptable in this direction.
OK, Matt Gaetz (or whoever posted that tweet) got the formula wrong, unsurprisingly.
“would be acceptable”…there are so many assumptions built into that phrase. Acceptable to who? Shouldn’t the important thing be acceptable to each other, with a recognition that a large age difference opens the door to power imbalances, and that children do not have the judgment of adults? This is a complex issue that doesn’t lend itself to simplistic formulae.
The one useful thing on that page is that they have a table of actual age differences between American couples. About 35% of all married couples have birthdays within a year of each other — which makes me totally average, since my wife and I have a 6 month age difference. Over 60% of American married couples have an age difference of less than 3 years! That tracks, since most of us form relationships with people with whom we have a lot in common, and those relationships develop organically from common associations. Do I need a calculator to figure out who I’m comfortable talking to?
At this point, I don’t see a floor, so I would not be surprised if the tweet was real. Doesn’t make it real, but it does prepare me for the worst in situations like this.
My understanding of the half-plus-seven rule has always been not as a measure for “dating in this range is definitely acceptable”, but as a measure for “dating outside this range is probably creepy”. I think for some people, it can be easy to forget how significant even a smaller age gap can be for someone younger, and that rule provides a way to help remain cognizant of what sort of age gap can start to create that power imbalance.
Obligatory xkcd: https://xkcd.com/314/
I’m barely a boomer and my wife is barely GenX, yet often asks me, “what do people of your generation think about…”
This is a trick question.
You will call him the Attorney General of the USA after January 20th, 2025.
14 is actually being absurdly generous, since the tweet says “over the last 10 years.” That means since he was 32, which in turn tells us that it’s been a while since he slept with a 9 year old.
Another good rule regarding dating, one that should never be violated, is: no one should ever date someone who looks and acts like Matt Gaetz, because he is creepy and will probably put something in your drink.
I can only wonder what his wife thinks of this, unless of course their relationship is a straight up business arrangement.
Thanks for clarifying, I was a little baffled but unwilling to delve into it. I saw the original comment and concluded he was not only dating 14-year-olds (disgusting but close to believable) but 10 years ago had been dating 9-year-olds which seemed a bit much even for this creep. I figured math was not his strong point. Does he have a strong point?
Any follow up on the original source? Is this a fake or not?
Stupid formulas. The only acceptable sex is consensual sex and the only importance of age is that all participants are mature enough to give valid consent.
I’m pretty sure he meant to write “plus seven” instead of “minus” because he wants to be desperately bragging in public that he was getting young girls. For some loser guys it’s a fucking medal of honor to be able to sleep with “barely legal” teens. It doesn’t make it better but he is stupid enough to admin in public that he is a fucking pedophile.
Ooops, that should be “he is not stupid enough”.
Innumeracy includes misunderstanding averages. People tend to be innumerate, whether they’re political twits or professors. In a sense, I guess you’re average.
A weak and unwarranted guess.
Consider: it may be that married people are more than a decade apart in age; so that the observed probability distribution function has to include (let’s keep it discrete in one-year units) within 1 year, within 2 years, within 3 years, within 4 years, and so forth.
Do you imagine any of those categories exceeds 35%?
(Pretty sure PZ knows the difference between the mean and the median)
I just learned the thug that is chairman of the House is rejecting the release of the hearing about sex criminal going to the White House.
5 out of 4 pedophiles agree with gaetz’s math.
Is it just me, or couldn’t it be a perfectly healthy relationship as long as the youngest part is at least 28-29, and as long as there’s no power imbalance between the two? Around 30 is usually the time when the brain is fully matured and one typically would have finished a study and started a career. Education level is a factor of course, as is acquired capital, but that is part of the power balance. As long as they treat each others as equals and with maturity and respect, the hard numbers are less important?
Via American ABC news – approx 5 mins long video news segment here :
https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/trump-stands-matt-gaetz-116030194
This tweet is satire from r/TOTALLYREALTWEETS.
https://www.reddit.com/r/TOTALLYREALTWEETS/s/IGTGSsUZDp