While struggling in recuperation of my collapsed lung, and wondering about many decisions in my life, Tim Harford hits upon some rough evidence that supports an intuition I think we’ve all had saved in the poetic parts of our minds.
If we incautiously interpret these numbers as causal – in fact they are merely correlations – then we could conclude that 20 years of marriage is compensation for up to 40 years of widowhood. Ten years of marriage more than justifies 40 years as a divorcee.
Indeed, most of the time, the love outweighs the pain. For me, in the condition I’m in right now, this is something to be happy about.