Darwin made lists of “marry” and “not marry” scenarios, precisely as one would expect from a great scientist. At the bottom of the page is scrawled, “Marry — Marry — Marry Q.E.D.” Which is Latin for “that which was to be demonstrated,” as if he had demonstrated anything except his own susceptibility to love. Future married you will probably be happy, but he or she is a different person. That said, most married people are thankful to their past single selves for deciding to wed. (I certainly am.) On average, though, I think children grow up best in intact, two-parent households, and married parents are more likely to stay together than cohabiting unmarried ones.

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Persons: Paul, Jordan Ellenberg, Russ Roberts, ” Roberts, Charles Darwin, Darwin, “, ”, Andrew Oswald, don’t, they’re, Ezra Klein Organizations: University of Wisconsin, University of Warwick, Research Locations: Britain, United States