Half-Your-Age-Plus-7 Rule

Dear Suze Q. I’m dating in my 50s, unsure what or why I’m doing it, or where to even begin. I heard about the “half-your-age-plus-7” rule. Is this legit? 

Dear 50, half 50 + 7 years says your minimum socially acceptable dating age is someone 32 years old (25+7). Sound right?  (The upper age for your date is found by -7 from your age, then double it: 50-7=43x2=86!). Although there are no reliable scientific studies to support this “rule,” it’s one of those catchy things that often works, and it’s a cool retort to those trash-talkers that say, “Hey! Isn’t your date too young for you?” -SQ