I’m 25 years old, unmarried, and planning to marry one day. But as for when I’ll walk down the aisle, I have no idea. However, according to mathematical theory, I must get the show on the road.Journalist Brian Christian and cognitive scientist Tom Griffiths, co-authors of “Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions,” feel that utilizing the “37% Rule” will help you make appropriate decisions about when you should start settling down.

The rule basically indicates that when you’re in a time constraint and need to make a decision in a short period of time, it’s ideal to make the final selection after considering 37 percent of the possibilities available to you. The 37% mark provides you with a substantial enough chunk of information that any decision you make will not be utterly uneducated, but you will also not waste too much time.

If you’re looking for true love between the ages of 18 and 40, take 37 percent of that 22-year gap, crunch some numbers, and you’ll meet a good spouse at the age of 26. If you settle before that age, you’ll miss out on some good ladies and gentlemen who are still out there. However, by the time you reach that age, all of the excellent ones are usually gone. Using “The Secretary Problem,” a 1960 experiment made the 37% Rule easier to understand.

Assume you’re in desperate need of a secretary and can only interview each candidate once. How many people should you interview before selecting who is the greatest fit for the job? If you’re interviewing three secretaries, you should make your decision after the second. If the second one appears to be far superior to the previous one, seize them swiftly. But if they turn out to be a dud, keep interviewing.None of this means you’ll be alone forever if you don’t find someone by the age of 26.

I mean, our general dating preferences fluctuate a lot from day to day, so you never know what can happen. According to the 37% Rule, at the age of 26, you’re grown enough to make decisions that aren’t affected by other parties, and you’ll be fairly truthful about what you believe in. And at that time in your life, it’s all about taking some chances. How else will you locate Mr./Mrs. Right rather than Mr./Mrs. Right Now?