ita, for how long will you be there?

Not very. I'm planning on five days off, between two weekends, losing at least one entire day to travel. But that's arithmetic, and it makes me dizzy.

I know anecdotes are not data.

Nonetheless, not smart is a dealkiller for me; not tall, not so much. I am the tall, smart daughter of tall, smart parents, and I married a short, smart person.

But for this to work you have to assume that women use a potential mate's relatives as cues for many of his future characteristics.

What if, though, she's using his paternal relatives for these cues?

I tried to think that one through, and when combined with the time travel it takes to get to Africa, I think I need to take a walk.

kat, I wish I had more k(K)at in my life.

But that's arithmetic, and it makes me dizzy.

Ooh, please, can I do that instead of what I need to do?

OK. Now I'm not here anymore. Until I'm four-part-less. Really.

What if, though, she's using his paternal relatives for these cues?

Then she may find herself dissatisfied later on but never know why, except that he's so... irritatingly... hair-having! Er, but that probably wouldn't contribute to the pattern. Unless she divorced him and found someone who was balding, and only had kids with him.

combined with the time travel it takes to get to Africa, I think I need to take a walk.

You have to fly over this continent too, don't you?

I still can't believe I spent 17 hours trapped on an airplane. Nor that the return trip had me awake and in transit for 40 straight hours.

They really need to get to work on that instant tranport thing.

Smart and tall women choose smart and tall men.

This is news? Or am I more of a narcissist than is the norm?

(Randy Johnson, who is 6'10", married a woman who is 6'0". Now, I don't know about her fastball, but I can reliably report that she's probably one of a very small class of women who can actually reach up and touch the top of Randy Johnson's head when they're both standing in stocking feet.)

Also, how early is early -- a significant portion of these women choosing after baldness has manifested?

FWIW, DH had a visibly receding hairline at 24 when I met him. My dad is bald. DH and Dad are also about the same height and are both much smarter than average. However, beyond being bald and 6'0", they don't look alike. And I don't think I married a smart man because being around my dad made me admire smart men--I married a smart man because my DNA and environment made me smart, and I can't imagine being married to a man I couldn't carry on an intellectual conversation with.

You have to fly over this continent too, don't you?

Ayup.

My theory (completely untested) is that I sure don't have enough tall to have tall kids, but might have enough smart to bump them up.

Then again, the things I like aren't necessarily things I claim about myself.

What if, though, she's using his paternal relatives for these cues?

Then she makes a mistake. Spousal assortment for most things is modest, because the cues are not very good, and because, as Betsy points out, not every trait is considered important by every person. Religion, race, height, and intelligence are the traditional examples, and religion and race are both losing ground.