Pursuits

The Science Behind the Perfect Dating Profile

In his new book, Christian Rudder mines OkCupid’s data for the secrets to the way we date now

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By Claire Suddath

September 4, 2014 at 8:58 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

This article is part of the September 8, 2014 issue of businessweek.

Rudder poses in the “ideal” profile picture, according to his statistical analysisPhotograph by Harry Griffin for Bloomberg Businessweek

We meet for the first time over coffee. He picks the place—Stumptown Coffee Roasters in Manhattan’s Ace Hotel, which tells me that he’s cool and cultured and can afford to drop $6 on a latte. I find him standing in the corner in a faded plaid shirt and tortoiseshell glasses, reading a paperback book. “Are you Christian?” He says he is.