I’ve always found Dan to be one of those uncommon academics who is full of surprise and delight. You can tell he enjoys his job, and his enthusiasm infects his audience too.
A couple of notes I took:
- He likes the “canoe test” for relationships; imagine rowing a canoe in rough waters with a partner; can you navigate something tough and unpredictable, where you must cooperate; plus the upside is that it’s an exhilarating outdoor experience, can bring you closer
- First time I heard this concept of the “Lesbian bed death”; around year 7, lesbians stop having sex, and in general the finding is that lesbian couples have the least sex of any pairing; but (my personal opinion) this is probably a common pattern in most relationships, lesbian or not
- When they studied arranged vs love marriages, they found that love marriages start happier (self rated), but decline, while arranged marriages start less happy but rise; the slopes / scores cross at year 3 (!)