Squek: You clearly agree that there is a significant numerical discrepancy between the numbers of boys and girls on the island. Yet you write;
“(though if I had to pin it down on one, I’d put it to the last one on my list, and the age gap not even in the top 10”
So long as you agree to the two basic premises (and you haven’t begun to disprove either)
1. Population Growth of 3%-4%
2. Average age gap amongst couples of aprox. 3yrs
These factors automatically dictate close to 10% of girls having no chance to marry. How can that be refereed to as a “insignificant factor”???
As for you second comment “manipulating people is wrong”. I don’t get it. Is encouraging boys to date girls their own age wrong?? Is pointing out the benefits of dating girls who are 21-24 wrong?
SJSinNYC:
You write:
“Some people get married and widowed young. Or divorced. So they might marry someone who has never been married. So someone might get married young, get divorced young and never marry again.”
I don’t quite understand how that impacts in any way the “simple” math that dictates that 10% of each graduating class has no one to marry. Lets go back to our island. If there are 100 boys and 150 girls. Say 90 boys marry 90 girls. We have 10 boys left and 60 girls. Thinking that the eitza is for those 50 girls to hope to latch on to the widows/divorces men from the 90 is simply not realistic.
If I may say so myself; the math IS simple but it’s people who refuse to acknowledge it who are oversimplifying the situation.
Joseph:
The island I refer to is the total dating pool of orthodox jews in North America. If you have some plane that could ship the thousands of stuck girls and land them in a community with eligible available men, I’ll be the first one to contribute towards the cost of transportation. HOWEVER that solution has yet to be found.