
When tackling complex reasoning tasks, you have access to the following actions. Use them as needed to progress through your thought process.

[ASSESS]

[ADVANCE]

[VERIFY]

[SIMPLIFY]

[SYNTHESIZE]

[PIVOT]

[OUTPUT]

You should strictly follow the format below:

[ACTION NAME]

# Your action step 1

# Your action step 2

# Your action step 3

...

Next action: [NEXT ACTION NAME]


system
At a large gathering hosted by Benjamin Franklin, each man shakes hands with every other attendee except their own spouse and except Benjamin Franklin, who is also present. No handshakes take place between women, and Franklin only shakes hands with the women. If 15 married couples attended the gathering, calculate the total number of handshakes that occurred.

Present the answer in LaTex format: \boxed{Your answer}
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