The people of eHarmony are not afraid to ask
the big questions about life, then drill down inside
these questions to see what they can discover.

Surely those algorithms that do the comparative analysis between millions of profiles
exhibit signs of genius. The 29 dimensions (lower right) can be overlayed
on Immanuel Kant's four most basic questions about life:

1. Who am I?
2. Where did I come from?
3. Where am I going?
4. What is the meaning and value of my life?

436 Questions. Every question has a scale, a value range. Then, for each particular value, there is a smaller range, perhaps it could be consider degrees of tolerance. So, when do you have a possible match? What do you compare? What are the most important dimensions to weigh? Then, how is each set of answers weighed against the others. And, how and which do you compare across literally millions of people?

The complexity of the task is staggering. And, certainly prior to the indexing capabilities of a computer, this task would be impossible. There is no way a human being could do such calculations on such large numbers of people.

Algorithms: Now what do we know about these algorithms? What do we know about harmony?

History. The first documented "algorithmic" discussions were in ancient Greece¹. Pythagoras (circa 450 BC) examined relations between laws in nature and the harmony within the sounds of music. Pythagoras could see that music and numbers were inseparable and he believed that these were the keys to unlock the pathways that bridge the spiritual and physical universe.

Harmony and algorithms were also used much later by Mozart when he created an algorithmic indexing system for his musical piece, Reunion.

But in the '50s, algorithms became almost the exclusive domain of the computer science departments; our philosophers and artists now have some catch up to do if we are to come full circle from those very early points of inquiry.

You can feel the energy within the web pages of US National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST), MIT, Stony Brook and others. It seems as though they all understand that we, as a scientitifc and intellectual community, are on the edge of very basic discoveries about the nature and structure of the universe by seeing new patterns, a different kind of supersymmetry, deep inside the structure of information.

For a little more formal definition,
consult with the dictionary of algorithms (NIST).
Also, there are other great resources to begin
to understand the computing sciences:

• SS Skiena's The Algorithm Design Manual
• Out on the edges of the Algorithm

Harmony. First, let's look at the textbook definitions, then our first principles definitions. Merriam-Webster: (1) the combination of simultaneous musical notes in a chord, (2) the structure of music with respect to the composition and progression of chords (3) the science of the structure, relation, and progression of chords.
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary: (1) when people are peaceful and agree with each other, or when things seem right or suitable together, i.e. imagine a society in which everyone lived together in (perfect) harmony.

Harmony: First principles. If you are a regular viewer of the show, you know that we struggle to understand the first principles of business -- what separates the good, the bad, and the ugly.

We believe that any business, to be a business, must obey a very simple, first principle of business: order / continuity. Simply, people need to know that the business is in business and something can be bought or sold.

Yet, it is only the good businesses that obey the second principle: relation/symmetry. These businesses create something of value that others want, and when they get paid for the product or service, there is a symmetry or balance.

Fast-growing and truly excellent businesses obey the third principle: dynamics/harmony. Here, "dynamics" are relations extended through time and "harmony" is at least two symmetries interacting and extending through time. Algorithms are the keys that keep some semblance of order within the complexities of these interacting symmetries and we believe that the people of eHarmony, through their own unique use of algorithms, are attempting to satisfy this condition.

And, we believe all fast-growing, good businesses are attempting to satisfy this third principle.

Today, with the advent of inexpensive computing, an explosion of ideas and new insights has begun. In 1955-56 Lejaren Hiller and Leonard Isaacson¹ created the first algorithmically generated muscial composition at the University of Illinois using computers. The kids that grew up with technology in their cribs are now young adults and their insight revolution is just beginning.

Those of us who grew up in the Newtonian world of space and time failed to interpret the web correctly and many of us dot-bombed. With the elimination of space-time borders, businesses like eHarmony are poised for a multi-billion dollar expansion. Every business and every organization that needs to look at the interiority of their people will be their next big market.

Today eHarmony is about finding the love of your life; we predict that it will soon be about opening the paths for love within our businesses and then throughout our world. Perhaps it will, as well, be about helping each of us to find out where there are blocks, walls and conceptual misunderstandings that hold us back.

For more, please review two episodes of the show: Information-Knowledge-Insight
and One Workplace for all starting with each of their homepages.

For more about the 29 dimensions, please continue with the eHarmony discussions about their research (click on the picture above goes to the same page).