Sex Math

[airportkid]

I had (have) a great deal of editorial comment concerning the following but present it here with only one editorial observation at the end, and leave it to the forum to dissect or ignore:


The human population today is just over 8,000,000,000 people.


Roughly half are opposite sex; so 4,000,000,000 couples.

34% are child bearing age, 66% are children or otherwise non-procreatively capable.

2/3 of the 66% are nonetheless sexually capable.

Roughly, 75% of the population is sexually active.

So, 3,000,000,000 sexual pairs at any given moment.

On average, sexually active couples have sex once every 12 days.  That’s the average.  Naturally age and other factors will have averages other than that, but the whole population averages out to 12 days.

12 days is 17,280 minutes.

3,000,000,000 divided by 17,280 is 173,611 sexual couplings every minute, on average.  That’s all 3,000,000,000 couples having sex across 12 days.

There are 267 births globally every minute.

267 of the 173,611 couplings produced a child.

0.15%

The odds of sex producing a pregnancy is 20%.

5 times 267 is 1,335 sexual unions conducted with procreative intent.

0.769%

 
Percent that sex is solely recreation:

99.23%

 
Any argument that people have sex for the purpose of procreation is grossly incorrect.  For human beings, the overwhelming purpose of sex is recreation (and other non-reproductive reasons).

[Dānu]

The argument that sex is for procreation has different roots. But I don't disagree with your point.

[brewerb]

11 days where no sex is occurring? 

[Fireball]

Well, I did my 37 seconds for this week. 

[Cavebear]

I had (have) a great deal of editorial comment concerning the following but present it here with only one editorial observation at the end, and leave it to the forum to dissect or ignore:


The human population today is just over 8,000,000,000 people.


Roughly half are opposite sex; so 4,000,000,000 couples.

34% are child bearing age, 66% are children or otherwise non-procreatively capable.

2/3 of the 66% are nonetheless sexually capable.

Roughly, 75% of the population is sexually active.

So, 3,000,000,000 sexual pairs at any given moment.

On average, sexually active couples have sex once every 12 days.  That’s the average.  Naturally age and other factors will have averages other than that, but the whole population averages out to 12 days.

12 days is 17,280 minutes.

3,000,000,000 divided by 17,280 is 173,611 sexual couplings every minute, on average.  That’s all 3,000,000,000 couples having sex across 12 days.

There are 267 births globally every minute.

267 of the 173,611 couplings produced a child.

0.15%

The odds of sex producing a pregnancy is 20%.

5 times 267 is 1,335 sexual unions conducted with procreative intent.

0.769%

 
Percent that sex is solely recreation:

99.23%

 
Any argument that people have sex for the purpose of procreation is grossly incorrect.  For human beings, the overwhelming purpose of sex is recreation (and other non-reproductive reasons).

Fascinating, but I have a couple of questions that may be definitional or "mathish"...

You said 0.15% "couplings produced a child", and 20% resulted in "a pregnancy". I don't quite understand that. What am I misunderstanding?

Also,"procreative intent" isn't the only way pregnancy happens. Just ask some surprised high school or college Prom Night daters a couple months later.
And also, sometimes contraceptives fail.

Loved the post in general...

[Cavebear]

11 days where no sex is occurring? 

Life is cruel sometimes...

But for some it is longer. Anniversary. Or Birthday. Or Never. I do assume though that you mean "involving someone else too".

[Cavebear]

Well, I did my 37 seconds for this week. 

Congratulations!

[Aliza]

I'd be curious to know if pregnancies are considering early and very early term miscarriages and abortions or if it's only pregnancies that result in live births.

[skyking]

I remember my first time.
It was cold and dark, I was alone........

[polymath257]

I'm 61 years old and have had sex an average of 1-2 times a week since I was 20 (more when I was younger, less now).

NONE of those times was with reproductive intent.

[mordant]

I assume this thread is prompted by the Heritage Foundation's call the other day for an end to recreational sex and the "madness" of constantly using contraceptives.

For a think tank, they sure aren't thinking clearly. I'm sure white evangelical Christians demand recreational sex on the regular from their wives, even if it's only slam-bam-thank you ma'am missionary sex. Before modern contraceptives they demanded and got it, too, and the consequences of multiple pregnancies were entirely on the wimmin-folk. When one wore out you just got yourself another.

The only reason for this position that I can think of is so that they can otherize infidels as sex fiends and also as a fulcrum of control over their own people. If you can get people to give up control of something as primal as their sexuality, you can get them to submit to anything. Bonus points for making them feel ashamed and guilty for their inability to 100% adhere to the alleged rules.

[Fireball]

I've long thought that religious authority exploited sexual tension for their own uses, in concert with royalty. I know many Jewish people who consider sex a gift from god. Maybe it's another reason for persecution? Asking, only.

[Cavebear]

I've long thought that religious authority exploited sexual tension for their own uses, in concert with royalty. I know many Jewish people who consider sex a gift from god. Maybe it's another reason for persecution? Asking, only.

If I was religious, I might suggest that God created us anciently with matching parts in order to enjoy some happiness in a difficult world. And that wouldn't be a bad thing. I mean (thinking religiously), God could have just left us squirting eggs and sperm into the water and hoping some found each other. Hey, it works for fish, right?

But I'm not religious, and I think evolution did pretty much the same thing. Matching parts, some pleasure, etc.

[pattylt]

The evangelical right is in a panic because white babies aren’t being born into their own households, much less anyone else’s, to continue their privileged positions. They’re losing in the percentages of whites being born and they’re losing seats in the pews and they’re terrified of what that means down the road.

[no one]

1+1=69

[Rhythmcs]

Only 99.23%? That seems low.

[brewerb]

I've long thought that religious authority exploited sexual tension for their own uses, in concert with royalty. I know many Jewish people who consider sex a gift from god. Maybe it's another reason for persecution? Asking, only.

I thought that religion always saw birthing and offspring indoctrination as more productive than converting heathens.