Speed dating is only the latest in a wave of popular matchmaking fads. The concept is simple: singles are given a fixed amount of time to meet and greet before a bell rings and they move onto the next meet-and-greet. These rotations continue until everybody has had a chance to come face to face with everyone else.

One of the most common questions about speed dating is an obvious one: how well can you possibly get to know somebody in two or three minutes? Certainly well enough to learn someone's name, hometown, profession, and tastes in music, food, art, and literature. Nobody's looking for a recapitulation of your senior honors thesis--just enough to determine whether a possible spark exists.

The Goal of Speed Dating

It goes without saying that the primary goal of speed dating is to expose you to as many singles as possible in a set amount of time. The theory here is that, playing the odds, you're likely to find at least one potentially intriguing candidate in the mix. Problem is, that lone individual is probably just as attractive to your fellow speed daters as he or she is to you. Grrrrr.

The American dating scene has witnessed the rise and fall of countless matchmaking schemes. But it appears speed dating is a permanent part of the landscape, at least for now, until some better method comes along to supplant it. That's partly because speed dating usually takes place in local coffee shops or cafes, two venues you'd likely continue to frequent even if you've given up on finding love.