Let me introduce you to a dodgy Roman character by the name of Marcus Craccus. He was once the richest man in Rome - an achievement attained not without a fair amount of controversy. Crassus owned a group of slaves well-versed in the art of extinguishing fires. Back in Roman times, fires were common because houses were made of wood and Thomas Edison had not yet invented the light bulb. This meant that illumination was obtained by way of fire, and as we know, fire and wood are not great friends - just ask the Emperor Nero.
So what did Crassus do? If a fire broke out in someone's house, he would quickly arrive on the scene and enter into some heated negotiations with the owner. Crassus would make an offer on the burning house - typically well below its value. Let's assume the owner paid 1000 denarii for the house. Crassus would offer, let's say, 600 - and this is before the slaves even started to grab the buckets of water. The owner would understandably balk at the lowball offer, at which point both Crassus and his slaves fired up another Marlboro and continued to lean on the fire engine, watching the flames gain momentum.
The owner would plead with Crassus to mobilize the slaves to douse the flames, at which point Crassus would amend his offer. In his most fluent Latin, he would inform the owner that 600 was no longer the price, given that the roof of the atrium was about to collapse. The new price was now 450. At this point, the owner would do one of two things: accept the offer of 450, at which point Crassus would quickly engage his fleet-footed slaves, or let the house burn to the ground and at least come out of the negotiations with his pride intact.
So what on earth does this have to do with dating in the modern world?
Women are facing a burning building. Their sexual market value peaks in their late 20s and then starts to decline. Men, on the other hand, see their market value peak in their mid to late thirties. The reason for this asymmetrical relationship is because women's market value is based on their physical appearance and their fertility cycle. Men, on the other hand, have their value based on their resources and status. Remember that in the sexual marketplace, men exchange resources for sexual access, while women exchange sexual access for resources.
As men get older, they become more established, and the balance of their resources grows. Men also face a burning house, but the burn kicks in later and the burn is substantially slower.
So, going back to the story of Crassus, the opportunistic fireman. Women have a few options available to them - they can take an early offer, which may be the best offer they realistically can get. Or they can hold out - getting less and less as time passes. The other option is they can choose to retain their pride and remain single. This is not an ideal situation for either men or women, because it keeps both genders out of the dating market, leading to increased loneliness. Women keep waiting for a better offer, while men are simply waiting.
In conclusion, the art of extinguishing flames might have evolved since Crassus's time, but the dynamics of value negotiation are timeless. Whether it's saving a burning house or navigating the modern dating scene, the balance of supply and demand remains a fiery topic.
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