The 37% is a great reference for math nerds! It's β π, the number of candidates one should sample before waiting for a better one to maximize the chances of picking the best one in a pick-or-pass scenario. See Secretary problem on Wikipedia
this post was submitted on 11 Dec 2025
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I completely missed that, nice catch π
The Internet is so fucking weird sometimes. I had literally never heard of the 37% / Secretary Problem until this morning when someone else commented about it in a different thread. Then I immediately noticed it in this comic and saw your comment.
It's like when you never notice a car until you buy one and then see that same car everywhere.
It is our mind that's weird. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_illusion
Dammit. Now I'm gonna be noticing shit about Frequency Illusion for the next few weeks.
Or maybe the person who mentioned the 37% / secretary problem on the other thread had recently read this post here which is what reminded them of it, so they mentioned it there, then you saw both!
I came here to say this as well! Ofc itβs severely undercounting when you consider the problem where the candidate must choose you back. So lucky him!
I don't think the 1/e strategy changes just because candidates have a chance of rejecting you.
Exactly, it is just taken into account in their evaluation. A person respecting consent will just reevaluate that relationship opportunity as 0 and move on to the next candidate or stay alone.
I think it does. For it to work, you'd need to be trying to find the first candidate in the 63% who would choose you back who is better than the best candidate in the 37% who would choose you back. If you can't verify that last part then it won't work I think.
Coincidentally, 37 is the funniest number.
uh, what does interviewing just south of 200 candidates suggest?
i am trying to hire a competent ceiling fan installatrix
Is his name Dave or Steve?
It's Dave Steve.
That's my cat's name. What a coincidence.
The code of my luggage is 1234.
That's the second stupidest combination I've ever heard in my life!
A sequential mate search seems too inefficient for the likes of her.
Unfortunately she is unable to do simultaneous multithreading.
However, she can have a pipeline, branch prediction, and context switch.
I bet she could do double threading if she just loosened up a little.
If there was some non-consensual sex that the woman weirdly likes, this would be an Ayn Rand fan fic.
This got a very hearty chuckle from me out loud.