Flirting, if we continue to interpret it as a game between two agents, seems to have some interesting properties.
The "permission handshake" Scott Alexander points out (thanks, @noggin-scratcher) looks to be the core of the flirting game. A's goal is to gain permission to be romantically intimate with B while not letting B know that they're doing this, at least not immediately such that B can make up their mind regarding the matter. A's general strategy comes in two parts: gain this permission incrementally (i.e. spending time with B, initiating physical contact as opposed to directly asking for a romantic relationship), and asking for permission using the handshake.
Because of this fundamental element of ambiguity, flirting is surprisingly challenging to understand using mathematical... (read 684 more words →)
Flirting, if we continue to interpret it as a game between two agents, seems to have some interesting properties.
The "permission handshake" Scott Alexander points out (thanks, @noggin-scratcher) looks to be the core of the flirting game. A's goal is to gain permission to be romantically intimate with B while not letting B know that they're doing this, at least not immediately such that B can make up their mind regarding the matter. A's general strategy comes in two parts: gain this permission incrementally (i.e. spending time with B, initiating physical contact as opposed to directly asking for a romantic relationship), and asking for permission using the handshake.
Because of this fundamental element of ambiguity, flirting is surprisingly challenging to understand using mathematical... (read 684 more words →)