The 37 Percent Rule: Key Takeaways

When trying to pick the best among many options, how many samples should you try before you commit? This is known as the optimal stopping problem. 

Mathematicians tell us that, to maximize the chances of the best outcome, we ought to ditch the first 37% of any options. In psychology, people tend to either "explore" or "exploit" more.

But, sadly for us, relationships are a bit messier than probability would have it.