Over the course of "How I Met Your Mother,", the group came up with several theories that fit certain situations and made us say "That makes sense." While a lot of them were from the legendary Barney Stinson, the others have also contributed to the list. Here are some of them.
1. The Platinum Rule
When Ted revealed to the group that he plans to date his dermatologist, Stella Zinman, everyone advised against it as it could get messy and awkward when things don't go well, especially since the circumstance still calls for them to see each other.
In reference to the rule "love thy neighbor," Barney makes his own version which states "Never, ever, ever, ever love thy neighbor. He then listed the stages such as attraction, bargaining, submission, perks, tipping point, purgatory, confrontation, and fallout.
2. Revertigo
The theory states that when a person encounters someone from their past, they revert back to their old selves. Marshall then coined the term "revertigo." Robin was experiencing revertigo when she met with an ex who starred in one of her music videos as a Canadian pop star.
The same also happened to Lily, wherein she would get sassy whenever her high school friend Michelle was around. Lily's friend who was studying behavioral psychology revealed the real term for revertigo, which was associative regression.
3. Graduation Goggles
Graduation goggles was a term given by Robin, explaining to Marshall that his suddenly liking GNB after deciding to quit was the same as high school, wherein even though it was a terrible experience, it's sad that you'll never see those people again.
Robin then said that you can't trust graduation goggles, which is just as misleading as beer goggles, in the context that people suddenly become attractive when you're drunk, and bridesmaid goggles, where you make rash decisions as your friend is already getting married.
4. Dobler/Dahmer Theory
The theory comes from Ted as he explained how when both people are into each other, a big romantic gesture would be like Lloyd Dobler as he held the boombox over his head in the movie "Say Anything." If one is not attracted to the other the same gesture comes off crazy.
That's where he calls it the Dahmer in reference to Jeffrey Dahmer. The topic comes out as the group discovers Robin's other persona, Robin Daggers as she grew obsessed with Paul Shaffer. Ted also applied the theory to his relationship with Janine, who was straight-up a Dahmer.
5. The Over-Correction
When people break up, it's usually because one has a quality that the other does not like. In the theory of over-correction, people will then find someone who is the complete opposite of their ex-partner as a way to make up for what was lacking before but does so excessively.
Ted explains to Robin that Barney's relationship with her co-worker Patrice is the same thing. "Barney was engaged to Quinn, a stripper he never really trusted so he over-corrects by dating her opposite, warm and nurturing Patrice."
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