Are Bachelors Smarter Than Married Men?

Discussion in 'Human Science' started by Nutter, May 18, 2007.

  1. Nutter Shake it loose, baby! Registered Senior Member

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    Is it wiser to be married or is it preferable to remain a bachelor? Are bachelors in fact smarter than married men?

    Dr. Laurence J. Peter authored several books, and to him is attributed the remarkable Peter Principle. Among Peter's many insights is the following:


    In a society based on marriage, why do so many men remain bachelors?

    It is easy to find a girl and to fall in love when a man is young. The urge is strong, the sap is high, and the powers of selectivity are undeveloped.


    “The girl who is easy to get may be hard to take.” – F. Wisely

    There are some men who do not fall in love and some who keep falling in love but do not marry. As a man matures sooner or later he reaches the age of discretion. The blood ceases to boil and reason takes over. Instead of rushing into marriage he considers the evidence for or against. After a man reaches a certain age, marriage decreases in value. The urgent appetite for sex decreases. He is now experienced at satisfying his needs without benefit of marriage. He still wants sex, but the price he is willing to pay has slumped.

    A bachelor does not grow lonelier as the years pass by. He learns how to live with himself. He satisfies his unique social needs. His companions may consist of members of his own sex or of the opposite sex or any combination of the above. He may dream of the exceptional girl who could excite him to the point where he would give up all this, but while his standards are going up, the quality of what he can get is going down. The available choice of desirable prospective wives gets smaller day by day. As his competence in making a rational selection increases, the desirable selectees decrease.

    To estimate his chances of success he looks at his married pals. Most are stalking girls at the office or sneaking off with others’ wives. He concludes that if married men have mistresses or look for sex and love outside of marriage he would not improve his situation by wedlock. A bachelor is a man who looks before he leaps – and then does not leap.


    “Bachelors know more about women than married men; if they didn’t, they’d be married, too.” – H.L. Mencken

    Do you agree with Peter’s analysis?

    Is there a corollary for bachelorettes?

    Since the time that Peter wrote this (almost 40 years ago), have any factors changed which would alter the validity of his analysis?

    Is Peter’s paradigm equally applicable across the entire range of sociological and anthropological stratifications?
     
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  3. tablariddim forexU2 Valued Senior Member

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    At face value, it sounds reasonable, but as I haven't been a bachelor since age 19, and since as I don't actually know any bachelors, I find it impossible to comment any further. Except to say, that my gut instinct tells me that most bachelors are somehow inadequate and that is the true reason they stay unmarried or without close relationship.

    The intellectual excuses put forth by the author may be true only for a minority, because most men are neither intellectual enough nor discerning enough to actually use that type of reasoning.
     
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  5. Mickmeister Registered Senior Member

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    LOL! The longer a man stays single, the more independent and set in his ways he becomes. What is important, family, love, sex, and so forth becomes less important to him as his own life is his focal point. It's hard to break that lifestyle too. Believe me, I know! I had to change A LOT!!! It wasn't easy in the least. In fact, many times, I almost called it quits in exchange for my independence.

    Almost all my friends thought that I would never get married, in fact most of them thought that I was going to back out of the wedding at the last moment. In fact, Shelli admitted afterwards that she even thought I might back out. I had to show them the pictures and video of the wedding to prove that I actually went through with it. Everyone knew how independent and self-absorbed I was and that's the reason they all didn't believe me about getting married. They thought that I was going to back out of it near the end like I did the time before on my ex-fiancee.

    It's funny though that you bring this up because before I got married, most married men, especially considerably older men all were advising me to not marry. I know of at least 8 men greater than 60 years old that were telling me to stay single unless I wanted children. It was weird because most of those men have become estranged from their wives. One of them lives downstairs and his wife lives upstairs. They rarely see each other unless it's eating time. Another one goes his way and she goes her way. I guess after being married for so many decades, couples become weary of each other.
     
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  7. sandy Banned Banned

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    Interesting topic Nutter. The bachelors I know are smarter in that they are not distracted by marriage/children and all the time/committment/energy they drain. The men have continued to grow mentally, financially, and spiritually because they have more time to commit. Men distracted by marriage lose a part of themselves. They are broken in half and have to compromise who they are to keep the peace. Many are bored beyond comprehension. Most men I know say they would NEVER get married again.
     
  8. redarmy11 Registered Senior Member

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    So much for holy matrimony and the sanctity of marriage. What a curious Christian you are. No, really.
     
  9. sandy Banned Banned

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    For those who choose marriage I say good luck. You're gonna need it. Paul said it is better to be unmarried. You can serve Jesus better. Christianity teaches to be like Jesus. Jesus wasn't married.

    For those who can make marriage work, good for them. It's a task I would never want.
     
  10. redarmy11 Registered Senior Member

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    Being married to God is one thing. Living in sin's quite another. I assume you have no plans to enter a convent?
     
  11. spuriousmonkey Banned Banned

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    Sandy is a virgin?
     
  12. NDS NDS Registered Senior Member

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    It's ironic to think that if everyone followed the advice of Paul, humanity would cease to exist. So, in a sense, God relies on man's lack of self control to keep this whole earth thing going.
     
  13. nietzschefan Thread Killer Valued Senior Member

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    Pretty accurate i'd say.

    Still there are some people are absolutely happy together...in their little happy lives. Marriage is for the masses.
     
  14. redarmy11 Registered Senior Member

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    Nuns don't have to be virgins, provided that they throw away their vibrators.
     
  15. Oli Heute der Enteteich... Registered Senior Member

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    I have.
     
  16. redarmy11 Registered Senior Member

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    And will you be entering anything when you get there?
     
  17. sandy Banned Banned

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    Not a virgin but very well-behaved since I got saved. I don't want to sin or be offensive to Him.
     
  18. Oli Heute der Enteteich... Registered Senior Member

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    Eurovision song contest? Maybe not that...
     
  19. Syzygys As a mother, I am telling you Valued Senior Member

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    Satistically speaking married men live longer than bachelors.

    Also, you are quoting a 40 year old paper???? ???????????
     
  20. sandy Banned Banned

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    They may live longer but they are less happy. Most feel like they compromised themselves. And not in a good way.
     
  21. nietzschefan Thread Killer Valued Senior Member

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    I guess having the picture of some celebrity, pretending you are them, telling people you shave your (|) and having an huge ego about these probably imaginary things isn't offensive to "Him", but it is to me.
     
  22. sandy Banned Banned

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    I never told anyone I shaved anything. I said I was smooth as silk. Quit twisting my words and back off.
     
  23. Nickelodeon Banned Banned

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    So you're naturally smooth down there?
     

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