Three interesting emails from readers re that marriage quiz:

Mr. Goldberg,
The marriage quiz to which you linked is maddening. Leaving aside the suspect–but plausible–social science data presented, the larger historical picture of marriage presented is flawed and pedestrian. Question 12, for example, tries to make something of the point that a majority of societies throughout history have not embraced monogamy. Bully for them. The fact is that we haven’t in the West for thousands of years, and that seems more pertinent in informing marriage law in New York than the sexual practices of Old Testament Patriarchs and African tribesmen. Question 9 cherry picked its way through ancient philosophy and Medieval marriage theology. Even though to the medievals excessive carnal gratification was seen as sinful even in marriage (this had more to with excess being bad qua excess), and virginity was seen as superior to married life, the institution was still venerated as a sacrament that existed before the Fall and was necessary for the continuation of human society. The Times is quick to publish the Medieval hang-ups on sexuality and concupisence to play to their audience’s preconceptions, but ignores the “progressive” aspects of the age’s marriage law, such as the right of any man or woman to choose a spouse freely without coercion, and the gender equality implicit in the so-called “conjugal debt.” The historical picture is actually quite rich and complex, but the Times is content to simply propagate old prejudices–”Catholics hate sex,” “Greeks were all gay,” etc.

And…

Jonah:
The data showing women may be less content in existing marriages seems
to support the proposition that women are more eager to enter marriagein
the first place – in their eagerness, they may be more likely to make a
bad choice of husband, thus leading to greater discontent later on.
Keep up the good work.

And..

By carefully using absolute words one can always attack “Myths” that you don’t like. For example, I could take the following liberal truism and attack it using this method.
Myth: “Thoughout history, tribal societies have been based upon simple communism. Capitalism is fairly modern.”
Fact: “Tribe thingamajig in whatsthatplace practiced a sort of capitalism in 500 BC.”
Compare this to the actual quiz question.
MYTH: Thoughout history, philosophers and theologians have ALWAYS believe that strong marital commitments form the foundation of a virtuous society.
FACT: Ancient Roman philosophers and mediavel theologians thought that ……
The “Fact” is not related to the “Myth”. Commitmant and Emotional love are different things. This is precisely what the Medieaval theologians were trying to say.
This is just another example of the liberals using the straw man argument – or, as you put it legerdemain.