Mathematics is probably not a subject that many people find sexy, but it could hold the key to finding true love.

Mathematicians have developed a series of theories that can help people find the perfect partner.

These include tips such as not trying to hide the less attractive parts of your appearance in your online dating profile pictures and looking for people who had fewer colds as a child.

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Dr Hannah Fry's (pictured left) book (right) explains how maths underpins love. She said the Discreet Choice Theory dictates that if there are two women - A and B - who men rank as equally attractive, if a third woman comes along who looks like a less attractive version of woman A, then woman A becomes more popular

They have also proposed mathematical approaches to finding the perfect wife or husband - by not choosing to settle down until after the age of 22 years old.

Dr Hannah Fry, a lecturer at University College London and author of a new book on The Mathematics of Love, outlined the theories at the Oxford Literary Festival.

She said that choosing friends who are slightly less attractive than you when going out looking for love could also bring advantages.

This is known as the Discreet Choice Theory, where the presence of an irrelevant alternative can change how you view your choices.

THE MATHEMATICS OF FINDING TRUE LOVE In her book, Dr Hannah Fry suggest a number of techniques to help people find true love. Have friends who are less attractive than you: Known as Discreet Choice Theory, the idea is that if there are two women - A and B - who men rank as being equally attractive, if a third woman comes along who looks like a less attractive version of woman A, then woman A becomes more popular with the men. Highlight your flaws: Analysis from dating websites has shown that often it is not those who are rated the 'most attractive' who get the most responses from other users. Instead it appears to be those that divide opinion - so those that have something that sets them apart from the rest of the crowds. Men with bald heads, for example, should not wear a hat to cover their pate as their lack of hair will be attractive to some. Those who are overweight should also not use clever photo cropping to hide what they perceive as flaws. This means people who find these traits attractive will face less competition than messaging those who have 'perfect' profile pictures. This formula produced by psychologist John Gottmann and mathematician James Murray predicts how positive or negative a wife and husband will be when they respond in the next turn of a conversation. The most successful couples are those that allow each other to complain and don't let trivial problems build up Choose 'healthy' looking partners: Dr Fry also explained that looking for those who tend to be heathlier are also likely to be more attractive. Don't settle down until 37% of your 'dating period' has past: The Optimal Stopping Period theory dictates that people should only start looking for the partner they want to settle down with after 37 per cent of their 'dating period' has past. If, for example, they are looking to get married by the age of 35 years old, and start dating from the age of 15, they should discount all partners they have before the age of 22.4 years old. After this time has past, marry the first 'best' partner you get: After the 37 per cent period has past, Dr Fry said people should marry the first partner they find that is better than any that came before. While this might sound like a risky strategy - for example if all subsequent partners fail to live up to the dream match in their teenage years - it is actually used in nature by some species of fish when mating. And if married, follow the 'positive' formula: This formula, devised by psychologist John Gottmann and mathematician James Murray predicts how positive or negative a wife and husband will be when they respond in the next turn of a conversation. The most successful couples are those that allow each other to complain and don't let trivial problems build up. Advertisement

The idea is that if there are two women - A and B - who men rank as being equally attractive, if a third woman comes along who looks like a less attractive version of woman A, then woman A becomes more popular with the men.

Dr Fry said: 'If you are trying to choose a wingman or wingwoman, choose someone as similar to you as possible, just slightly less attractive.'

Other mathematicians have dedicated a fair amount of time to the subject of finding and keeping love.

One mathematician - Peter Backus who was a pHD student at Warwick University at the time - wrote a paper called 'Why I don't have a girlfriend' after a three-year love drought.

He calculated - using an mathematical formula known as the Drake equation - that of all the available women in the UK, there were just 26 who were appropriate for him.

He also predicted that he had just a one in 285,000 chance of meeting one of them on a night out.

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Being unconventionally attractive may also be an advantage, according to the mathematician's research. This is because it reduces competition for people who find those flaws appealing. Sarah Jessica Parker (shown) divides opinion with many people thinking she's beautiful and others disagreeing

Fortunately for him, it seems he did meet one of them - a girl called Rose from London who he met at a dinner with friends while he was working at Warwick University - and has now married her.

According to Dr Fry, however, there are ways of increasing your chances of meeting the one.

In her book she provides a series of mathematically supported tips for those looking to find love and keep it.

THE LOOK OF LOVE IN THE BRAIN It is the perfect invention for an angst-ridden teenager or a suspicious spouse - scientists have paved the way for a test that can tell if someone is truly in love. Neurologists claim to have discovered the secrets of how different emotions affect the brain. By poring over scans of people in different stages of romance, they think they have the first clues as to what true love looks like. Initial results show a dozen different areas of the brain is affected in different ways by the emotions of love. A cocktail of chemicals carry messages from one region to another, which may allow scientists in the future to use MRI scans to tell what someone truly feels. Early results published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience reveal that the team are already confident they have discovered the part of the brain - the caudate nucleus - which is most active at the end of a love affair.‘ If the other parts of the puzzle can be pieced together, they may one day be able to tell exactly how someone feels with a brief scan. Advertisement

Analysis from dating websites has shown that often it is not those who are rated the 'most attractive' who get the most responses from other users.

Instead it appears to be those that divide opinion - so those that have something that sets them apart from the rest of the crowds.

Men with bald heads, for example, should not wear a hat to cover their pate as their lack of hair will be attractive to some.

Those who are overweight should also not use clever photo cropping to hide what they perceive as flaws.

She explained that this is because often people who find these traits attractive will also be more likely to message as they know it is not attractive to everyone.

This means they will face less competition than messaging those who have 'perfect' profile pictures.

Dr Fry said: 'People who are unbelievably good looking will always do well, but the rest of us would be better to divide opinion.'

She also outlined a maths based strategy for finding a wife or husband known as the Optimal Stopping Period.

This states that people should only start looking for the partner you want to settle down with after 37 per cent of their 'dating period' has passed.

If, for example, a oerson is looking to get married by the age of 35 years old, and starts dating from the age of 15, they should discount all partners they have before the age of 22.4 years old.

Meanwhile, the Optimal Stopping Period theory says people should only start looking for the partner they want to settle down with after 37% of their 'dating period' has past. If, for example, they want to get married by the age of 35, and start dating at 15, they should discount all partners before the age of 22.4 years old

Neurologists recently claimed to have discovered the secrets of how different emotions affect the brain. By poring over scans of people in different stages of romance, they claim to have the first clues as to what true love looks like. The areas affected by the feeling of love are highlight

After this age they should then marry the first partner they find that is better than any that came before.

While this might sound like a risky strategy - like if all subsequent partners fail to live up to your dream match in your teenage years - it is actually used in nature by some species of fish when mating.

Dr Fry also explained that looking for those who tend to be heathlier are also likely to be more attractive.

According to The Times, she said: 'As a child, every time you get a cough or a cold your face tends to grow in a slightly asymmetrical way.

'So in thinking symmetrical faces are more attractive, you are validating an underlying bill of health.'

However, recent research has suggested that facial symmetry has little to do with health during childhood but more perhaps a signal of genetic 'fitness'.

And for those who are already married, maths can also be used to help predict whether their relationship will last by looking for patterns.

Psychologist John Gottmann and mathematician James Murray produced a formula that looks at the mood of each partner when alone, together and how they influence each other.

This found that some couples often got into spirals of negativity that would ultimately lead to divorce.

The most successful couples are those that allow each other room to complain and do not store up trivial things to become a bit deal.

The same formula has also been used to help predict the outcomes of an arms race between countries.

Speaking during a Ted Talk last year, Dr Fry said: 'Love, as with most of life, is full of patterns and mathematics is about studying patterns.'



