The Matching Algorithm

Quinn had filled out the matchmaking app's questionnaire honestly, or so she thought. She'd answered forty-two questions about values, habits, and what she wanted from a relationship. The algorithm was supposed to learn from her answers and get better with every match.

Quinn sudah mengisi kuesioner aplikasi perjodohan itu dengan jujur, atau begitulah menurutnya. Ia menjawab empat puluh dua pertanyaan tentang nilai hidup, kebiasaan, dan apa yang ia inginkan dari sebuah hubungan. Algoritmanya seharusnya belajar dari jawaban-jawabannya dan makin pintar di setiap pasangan yang disarankan.

Instead, it kept suggesting people who were, on paper, nothing like what she'd described wanting.

Namun yang terjadi, aplikasi itu terus menyarankan orang-orang yang, di atas kertas, sama sekali berbeda dari yang ia gambarkan.

"It matched me with someone who lists 'spontaneous road trips' as a hobby," Quinn told her friend over coffee. "I specifically said I value routine and planning ahead."

"Aku dipasangkan dengan orang yang menulis 'jalan-jalan dadakan' sebagai hobinya," kata Quinn kepada temannya sambil minum kopi. "Padahal aku jelas-jelas bilang aku suka rutinitas dan suka merencanakan segalanya."

"Maybe it knows something you don't," her friend said, only half joking. "Algorithms notice patterns humans miss sometimes."

"Mungkin aplikasi itu tahu sesuatu yang tidak kamu tahu," kata temannya, setengah bercanda. "Algoritma kadang bisa melihat pola yang luput dari manusia."

Quinn dismissed that, but she agreed to one date with Rasa, mostly to prove the app wrong. Rasa arrived fifteen minutes early, having reportedly gotten lost twice and refused to check a map, preferring to "just find it."

Quinn menganggapnya angin lalu, tetapi ia setuju untuk satu kencan dengan Rasa, terutama untuk membuktikan bahwa aplikasi itu salah. Rasa datang lima belas menit lebih awal, katanya sempat tersesat dua kali dan menolak membuka peta karena lebih suka "menemukannya sendiri."

"I should tell you now," Rasa said, sliding into the seat across from her. "I have never once stuck to a plan I made more than a day in advance."

"Aku harus bilang dari sekarang," kata Rasa sambil duduk di kursi di seberangnya. "Aku belum pernah sekali pun menepati rencana yang kubuat lebih dari sehari sebelumnya."

"That's almost impressively different from how I operate," Quinn said, though she found herself smiling despite the warning.

"Itu hampir terdengar mengesankan, saking berbedanya denganku," kata Quinn, meski ia mendapati dirinya tersenyum walaupun sudah diperingatkan.

Over the next two hours, Quinn realized something uncomfortable. In her questionnaire, she had described the person she thought she should want. Not the one who actually made her laugh until her coffee went cold. Rasa's chaos was, against every expectation, genuinely fun to be around.

Selama dua jam berikutnya, Quinn menyadari sesuatu yang tidak nyaman. Dalam kuesionernya, ia menggambarkan orang yang menurutnya seharusnya ia inginkan. Bukan orang yang sebenarnya membuatnya tertawa sampai kopinya dingin. Kekacauan Rasa ternyata, di luar dugaan, benar-benar menyenangkan.

"The app's description of me was probably more honest than my own answers," Quinn admitted on their third date, weeks later. "I wrote down who I thought sounded stable. You're the opposite of stable, and somehow it's working."

"Gambaran aplikasi itu tentang diriku mungkin lebih jujur daripada jawabanku sendiri," Quinn mengaku pada kencan ketiga mereka, beberapa minggu kemudian. "Aku menulis orang yang kupikir terdengar stabil. Kamu kebalikan dari stabil, dan entah kenapa ini berhasil."

"Don't tell the algorithm it was right," Rasa said. "I'd hate for it to get smug about it."

"Jangan bilang ke algoritmanya kalau dia benar," kata Rasa. "Aku tidak mau dia jadi sombong."

"Too late," Quinn said, checking her phone. "It's already suggesting we plan a spontaneous trip together. I think it's been listening."

"Sudah terlambat," kata Quinn sambil melirik ponselnya. "Dia sudah menyarankan kita merencanakan perjalanan dadakan bersama. Kurasa dia selama ini menguping."

"Was it though? Or did it just get lucky?" Rasa asked.

"Tapi benarkah begitu? Atau dia cuma beruntung?" tanya Rasa.

"Honestly," Quinn said, "I've stopped caring which one it was."

"Jujur saja," kata Quinn, "aku sudah tidak peduli yang mana."