Human Monogamy Has Deep Roots
52fighters@kbin.social to 
Science@kbin.social – 26 points – 
scientificamerican.com
Pairing up might have been the best move our ancestors ever made
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52fighters@kbin.social to Science@kbin.social – 26 points –
Slightly correcting the math here. 2 people is one relationship (AB). 3 people is 3 relationships (AB, AC, BC). Add another person and it's 6 relationships (AB, AC, AD, BC, BD, CD). Add a another person (5th) and it's 10 relationships (AB, AC, AD, AE, BC, BD, BE, CD, CE, DE).
The formula for a relationship with X people is the Sum of all numbers between 1 and X-1,
I'm assuming everyone is bisexual because that's my personal policy in life.
That isn't taking into the next level of complications that I've seen in polycules; relationships of more than 2 persons within the group.
3 persons:
AB, AC, BC, ABC.
4 Persons:
AB, AC, AD, BC, BD, CD, ABC, ABD, ACD, BCD, ABCD
5 Persons:
AB, AC, AD, AE, BC, BD, BE, CD, CE, DE, ABC, ABD, ABE, ACD, ACE, ADE, BCD, BCE, CDE, ABCD. ABCE, ABDE, BCDE, ABCDE, I'm probably missing some.
Then there is the next level after that, relationships between groups within the group:
How does (AB) and (CD) interact?
What about (ABC) and (CD) vs (AB) and (CDE)?
Honestly, it seems like far too much effort/stress.
Ah, I did a back of the envelope thing to figure it out, you're right, I made some mistakes
Assuming some or all are heterosexual or that not everyone is in a sexual relationship with everyone else, you still need to manage those relationships because even being another partner of an intimate partner you need to keep things at a friendly level because strife between non-intimate relationships becomes pressure between intimate ones. It gets complicated.