還在等待「夢中情人」？看看科學家怎麼說。

· Why you SHOULDN』T wait for the perfect partner: Scientists say settling for "Mr Right Now" is better than waiting for "Mr Right"

還在等待完美另一半的出現？放棄吧。科學家認為，與其苦苦等待「真命天子」，不如選個「眼前人」就此安頓。

Study says our nature has evolved to take safe bet in relationships

研究表明，在兩性關係中，人類本能地趨向於更保險的選擇——進化的結果。

· This risk-aversion behaviour has helped the human race to survive

· 這種規避風險的行為有助於人類提高生存幾率。

· Researchused a simulation to model best outcome over generations

· 研究中採用模擬程序，模擬人類若干代繁衍，獲得了所能產生的最好結果。

· They found in a small community, it"s wise for people to settle early

· 研究人員發現，在小型群落中，較早確立關係的做法比較明智。

· But they say evolution doesn"t prefer a single way of dealing with risk

· 但研究人員認為，在進化進程中，並不只有單一的應對風險的方式。

If you"re holding out for Mr Right, then you may be better off settling for Mr Right Now.

Evolutionary scientists claim that the human race"s survival has been helped by the fact people are risk-averse when it comes to relationships.

如果你還在為等候你的「白馬王子」止步不前，不如找個「眼前人」結束單身狀態。研究進化的科學家稱，在兩性關係中，人們一般會做出風險較小的選擇，而這提高了人類的生存幾率。

They say our nature - traced back to the earliest humans – has evolved so that we take the safe bet when stakes are high, such as whether or not we will mate.

科學家稱，人類的本性（可追溯到最早期的人類）已然進化：在遇到風險較大的情況，例如在結婚還是不結婚的問題上，人類總趨於保險的做法。

"Primitive humans were likely forced to bet on whether or not they could find a better mate," said Chris Adami, Michigan State University professor of microbiology.

"They could either choose to mate with the first, potentially inferior, companion and risk inferior offspring, or they could wait for Mr or Ms Perfect to come around.

"If they chose to wait, they risk never mating."

「對於是否能找到更好的伴侶，原始人類也許不得不賭上一把，」密西根州立大學微生物教授，克里斯·阿達米說。「他們要麼選擇第一個碰到的（很可能資質平庸）作為伴侶，後代可能同樣不優秀；要麼等待『真命天子/天女』的到來。『如果選擇等待，他們很可能沒有配偶。』」

Professor Adami and his team used a computational model to trace risk-taking behaviours through thousands of generations with digital organisms.

阿達米教授和他的團隊利用計算機模型，模擬電子虛擬生命數千代的繁衍，以此追蹤其對風險的應對行為。

The researchers programmed the digital organisms to make decisions in a similar way that natural organisms, such as humans, must make in real life.

"An individual might hold out to find the perfect mate but run the risk of coming up empty and leaving no progeny," Professor Adami said。

研究人員參照自然生命（人類）在現實環境中做決定時的選擇方式，編寫了電子虛擬生命。

「有人選擇苦等完美伴侶，但同時需承受希望落空，沒有後代的風險，」阿達米教授說。

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The study also found that evolution doesn"t prefer one single, optimal way of dealing with risk, but instead allows for a range of less, and sometimes more-risky, behaviours to evolve

研究同樣表明，在進化過程中，並非只有單一的，「最優」的應對風險的方式；也存在選擇風險更小，或有時風險更大的行為。

"Settling early for the sure bet gives you an evolutionary advantage, if living in a small group."

「如果生活在小型群落中，較早與容易到手的伴侶確定關係，會得到進化上的優勢。」The team tested a number variables that influence risk-taking behaviour and found that certain conditions influence our decision-making process.

研究團隊測試了大量影響風險選擇行為的變數，發現特定條件能夠影響決策行為的過程。

The decision must be a rare, once-in-a-lifetime event and also have a high payoff for the individual"s future – such as the odds of producing children.

這樣的決定一定與終身難逢的，且對未來抱有極大期許的少有大事有關——比如關係到是否有子孫後代的大事。

How risk averse people is linked to the size of the group in which they are raised.

規避風險的行為與人們生活的群落大小有關。

If raised in a small group – fewer than 150 people - people tend to be much more risk averse than those who were part of a larger community.

在小群落里（少於150人）的人較之大群落，更容易選擇規避風險的行為。

It turns out that primitive humans lived in smaller groups, about 150 individuals。

結果表明，原始人類以較小的群落生活，大約150人左右。

Because resources tend to be more scarce in smaller communities, this environment helps promote risk aversion.

因為小群落的資源一般比較缺乏，這樣的環境下，更容易出現風險規避行為。

"We found that it is really the group size, not the total population size, which matters in the evolution of risk aversion," said co-author Arend Hintze.

「我們發現，其實是群落的大小，而不是總人口的大小，在有關風險規避的進化中起到了關鍵作用，」報告合著作者，阿倫·辛特斯說。

However, not everyone develops the same level of aversion to risk.

不過，並非每個人的對風險規避的程度都一致。

The study also found that evolution doesn"t prefer one single, optimal way of dealing with risk, but instead allows for a range of less, and sometimes more-risky, behaviours to evolve.

研究同樣表明，在進化過程中，並非只有單一的，「最優」的應對風險的方式；也存在選擇風險更小，或有時風險更大的行為。

"We do not all evolve to be the same," Professor Adami added.

"Evolution creates a diversity in our acceptance of risk, so you see some people who are more likely to take bigger risks than others. We see the same phenomenon in our simulations."

「人類的進化並非盡皆相同。」阿達米教授補充道。

「在人類應對風險上，進化有不同的模式，你會發現，有些人更傾向於承擔較大的風險。在計算機模擬中，我們也見到了相同的現象。」