Is it harder to find love than ever before?

現在會比以前更難找到對象嗎？

In this modern age of social networking and dating apps, surely it's easier to find love with the growing population!

在現今社交網路與交友軟體盛行的環境中，的確比較容易在持續成長的人口中找到喜歡的對象。

There are already over seven billion people on this planet, so there's more people to choose.

地球上已經有超過 70 億的人口，所以從中有更多人可以選擇。

From now, anyone of those seven billion wanna come over and eat some pizza bagels with me?

現在這70多億的人口中，有人想和我一起嚐嚐披薩百吉餅嗎？

So, are more people better?

所以，有更多人會更好嗎？

Not according to "The Paradox of Choice".

這與《選擇的悖論 》(譯註：Barry Schwartz 撰寫的一本書) 的論點不同。

Popularized around ten years ago, this theory states that the more options a person has,

十年前這項理論被普及化，它宣稱如果人們擁有愈多選擇，

the more likely they will not make a decision, or be unhappy with the one they choose.

他們愈可能無法做出決定或對於自己的選擇感到不滿。

Rather than liberate someone with a greater freedom of options, we're so over encumbered with choices that we can't move.

擁有很多選擇並未讓人更自由，我們反而會被太多選項所阻礙。

I knew I should have paid more attention to those dang notifications in Fallout!

我就知道我應該要更注意 Fallout 中那些討厭的警告！ (譯註：「Fallout」為一款角色扮演遊戲，角色負載過重時無法移動。）

When it comes to the modern dating scene, one of the biggest places to find a ton of perceived options is the realm of dating apps and websites.

說到現代戀愛發生的地方，其中一個能找到最多可能選擇的地方是交友軟體或交友網站。

Furthering the theory that more options isn't better, scientists recently found that the more dating profiles a person looked at,

除了這項理論所述，愈多選擇並未更好之外，科學家最近發現一個人瀏覽愈多他人在交友網站上的簡介，

the more likely they were to remember details of the profiles "incorrectly".

他愈可能記住不正確的細節資訊。

And that's not very good if you're trying to find the love of your life.

如果你想找到畢生摯愛，這不是件好事。

They also found that people typically expect more difficulty, less enjoyment, and more romantic regret when they have a lot of people to choose from.

他們也發現當人們有愈多選項可挑選時，經常會遇到愈多困難、獲得愈少歡樂，以及增添愈多浪漫的遺憾。

Their participants usually expected about 20 to 50 choices to be ideal.

他們的實驗參與者通常期待有20至50個理想的選擇。

Keep in mind, this focused on what people "expect" to happen, not necessarily proving what "will" happen.

請記住，這是人們所「期待」的狀況，但「實際上」不一定如他們所預期。

However, a separate study also said more online dating options were overwhelming,

然而，另一項研究也認為網路上太多的選擇對象會讓人迷失，

further making participants stray from what they wanted in a partner at the beginning of the study.

進而造成參與者偏離他們一開始理想的擇偶標準。

So, would it be better to have no options at all?

那麼，沒有多餘選擇會更好嗎？

That doesn't seem to work, either, according to what scientists are calling "the Single Option Aversion."

這似乎也不太成立，因為根據科學家所說的「單一選擇排斥論」，

This is where a person is unwilling to choose an option, even an "attractive" one, when there are no competing options.

它指的是當人們沒有可對比的選項時，人們會不願意做出選擇，即使這個選擇可能相當吸引人。

Contrary to the Paradox of Choice theory, the Single Option Aversion shows that the more choices, the better.

相對於選擇的悖論，單一選擇排斥論顯示，愈多的選擇會更好。

So, if you only have one option, it's probably pretty hard to find true love.

所以如果你只有單一選擇，你會較難找到真愛。

Unless that option is me, of course.

當然，除非那個唯一的選擇是我。

Still got those pizza bagels!

還是一起來吃比薩百吉餅吧！

So, this would mean it's easier to find love now.

等等，這可能意味著現在更容易找到對象。

Back in the past, transportation limited you to a very small social network, meaning you might have had only a couple of options, maybe even just one.

過去交通不便將你限制於很小的社交網路，亦即你只有很少的選擇，有時甚至可能只有一個。

But, to conclude it was harder to find love back then would be assuming people back in time had the same thought processes that we do now.

但若將此歸結於在過去很難找到真愛，也就預設了那時的人們可能也經歷了跟我們一樣的思考過程。

Keep in mind these physiological studies we looked at were done in recent times, not back in the 1700's.

請記住，我們看到的這些生理學研究是近期的研究，而非1700 年代的。

it's pretty tough to totally say if it's harder now than ever before to find love, even if the evidence seems to point that way.

老實說，很難肯定說現在比以往更不容易找到對象，即使證據似乎證明了這件事。

But there is one thing we know for sure: many people found love in the past and many people have found love now.

但有件事我們相當確定：不管過去或現在，很多人都找到了愛人。

To all my love bugs out there, if love is what you want, then I hope you find it.

總之，如果你渴望獲得愛，那我祝福你找到它！

And if you can't find any humans, there is plenty of Blocko to go around.

但如果你找不到戀愛對象，可以考慮一下 Blocko。

So, what do you think?

所以，你是怎麼想的？

Is it harder to find love than ever before?

現在有比以往更難找到戀愛對象嗎？

Or do you think it's even easier in this modern age of technology?

或者你認為在目前的科技時代中會更容易呢？

Let me know in the comments below.

歡迎在底下留言讓我知道。

This episode got me thinking:

這一集節目讓我思考：

Is love even real?

愛是真實的嗎？

Why do we feel this intense sensation?

為何我們會有如此強烈的感覺呢？

There's actually a lot of science behind it, so you should check out this video.

實際上它背後的確有很多科學原理，記得觀看這部影片。

Let' start off at a chemical level.

讓我們從化學層面來看。

Scientist believes that there are 3 main neurotransmitters involved with attraction, dopamine, adrenaline and serotonin.

科學家相信有三種神經傳遞質與吸引力有關：多巴胺、腎上腺素和血清素。

Dopamine makes you feel good and it have the same effect on the brain as doing cocaine.

多巴胺會讓你感到很棒，它對大腦來說擁有跟吸食古柯鹼一樣的效果。

Wow!

哇！

Couples often show high signs of dopamine levels resulting in higher energy, suppressed hunger, higher ability to focus and less need for sleep.

情侶經常表現出高多巴胺的跡象，這導致他們更充滿活力、飢餓感被抑制、專注力提高和睡眠需求降低。

There 's a link in the description if you're on mobile.

如果你使用手機觀看，在底下的說明欄中有連結可以點選。

As always, I'm Blocko and this has been Life Noggin.

還是老樣子，我是 Blocko ，這裡是 Life Noggin 。

Don't forget to keep on thinking!

別忘了持續思考！