How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems

by Randall Munroe

A more comprehensive survey by Dr. Reuben J. Thomas, published in Sociological Perspectives, asked 1,000 US respondents for information about how they met their two closest friends. The study used the answers to build up a profile of how friendships form at different ages. Some sources of friendships remained relatively steady—at all ages, people made about 20 percent of their new friendships through family, mutual friends, religious organizations, or encounters in public settings. Other sources of friendships wax and wane throughout life—at first school dominates, followed by work. Then, as people approach retirement age, they become more likely to make friends around the neighborhood and at volunteer organizations.