Worried your boyfriend is never going to propose? Then buy him a calculator.

担心男友不向你求婚？给他买个计算器吧！

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Worried your boyfriend is never going to propose? Then buy him a calculator. Mathematicians have come up with a 'fiancee formula' that allows men to work out the perfect time to pop the question.

Mathematicians（数学家） have come up with a 'fiancee formula' that allows men to work out the perfect time to pop the question（求婚） .

All he needs is the age he would first consider marrying and his cut-off point - and the equation does the rest.

Maths professor Anthony Dooley said: 'Applying maths to matters of the heart is always dangerous. In life you are dealing² with emotions and have to think much harder.

'But if you want to work out the right moment to start getting serious, this gives you a mathematical framework.'

The formula is based on a statistical³ technique known as optimal⁴ stopping - or the best time to do something.

Professor Dooley's colleague, Professor Bruce Brown, said the formula was a 'reasonable approach' unwittingly followed by many young men, including himself.

Writing in the third person, he said: 'As for the author, he can tell you that, looking back and doing some calculations, he did follow the marriage solution, albeit⁵（即使，虽然） by accident, and it has worked out perfectly⁶.'

The formula was devised with men in mind but could equally apply to women, including those uncertain about whether to accept a proposal. It could also help nervous men calculate when to avoid the ultimate commitment.

But those who find they have passed the optimal（最理想的） age for proposing should not panic - simply pop the question to the next good prospect⁷ who comes along.

Professor Dooley, of New South Wales University in Sydney, added: 'Probability isn't the most romantic basis for a marriage but while the formula won't fit everyone it does seem to fit a lot of couples, whether through accident or design.'