An Abundance of Katherines (28 page)

79

The world record for watermelon seed spitting is held by Jim Dietz, who in 1978 spit a watermelon seed 68 feet, 11 inches. Colin was closer to the hole than that for sure.

80

Giving to the poor, one of the pillars of Islamic faith.

81

Yeah, I know, that’s a lot to keep in your head all at once. Look, John
told
you that Colin was a prodigy.

82

Right, big deal—I can also make educated guesses about whether my friends’ relationships will last. I guess the point here is that they were able to mathematically justify the educated-guessing process.
⁸⁷
This work is too technical for me to summarize here (for example, I don’t understand a word of it), but if you want to read about it, you can either try the colossal and impenetrable book
The Mathematics of Marriage
by Gottman, Murray, Swanson, Tyson, and (yet another) Swanson, or else the much more manageable and fun online review and summary by Jordan Ellenberg, available at
slate.msn.com/id/2081484/
.