Pick-Up Art

edited 25th Aug '12 2:19:16 PM by JosefBugman

I thought you meant "you, the PUA guys" in plural. But he's right too, so maybe I was biaised.

"Still, I don't really care about other people's preferences one way or the other. I'm just annoyed by people universalizing their preferences, and/or not having the guts to call them what they are."

This. All these different interest groups mask their pet preferences behind the veils of morality, God's will, appeals to nature, the good of the species, etc. Hardly "manly", in the case of the PU As.

edited 13th Sep '11 2:12:55 PM by MRDA1981

I would consent to the person in front of me; emphasis on person. Not the physical appearance of the person, the person themselves, their personality.

Yes, it does work. I find it a lot easier to do it during the day than at night actually; what JS said is also true, it also depends on the mood I'm in. If I'm in a bad mood, then no, I won't say anything, but if I feel good, I'll be a more engaging person to talk to.

If a girl looks like she's busy (on the phone or something like that), then I'll leave her alone, but if she's just sitting there, bored, yeah, I'll talk to her. Maybe I'll go for the number, maybe I won't; the point at the time is really just to enjoy the conversation and see where it leads.

edited 13th Sep '11 4:50:40 PM by tropetown

Thread Hop:

How the fuck do YOU know what the girl's perspective is? As if all girls had the same perspective, even.

@Black Humor: Silly, girls aren't real people with individual differences, thoughts and feelings. They're all the same, and all you need to get into their pants is a magical PUA formula. If you try it on a girl and it doesn't work then phew! you're lucky! because she clearly wasn't a real girl worthy of your attention.

edited 15th Sep '11 3:57:57 PM by raisingirl83

Let's not pretend that you can't make educated guesses on how people perceive others.

And even if you could not, it wouldn't refute tropetown's argument, which was simply that people feel better about people whom they perceive to be charming and pleasant. That's a pretty simple truth, and doesn't hinge on any particular person's ability to predict what specific behaviors will evoke that feeling.

As a girl who's had no shortage of men trying to pick her up in broad daylight, I can assure you that even if I respond civilly and pleasantly, and leave you thinking that you're being the most charming player ever, in my mind I'm thinking "go away already you fucking creep!" I won't presume to speak for all women - some of them may well cherish the attention and are friendly enough to genuinely enjoy talking to strangers, but I do want to caution against presuming that the girl's real reaction is what it seems overtly to be.

Somebody actually thought that?

Thought that he could pick me up, or thought that we women aren't conniving liars?

@kashchei: Was it Margaret Atwood who did that impromptu survey years ago, the results of which were that men's biggest fear about women was that women would laugh at them, and women's greatest fear about men was that men would kill them? Telling, huh?

@ksh: Both, though I'm surprised that he takes their responses at face value. Then again, I'm old and cynical.

edited 15th Sep '11 9:10:27 PM by Kino

I don't, but you're better off assuming one way than you are psyching yourself out unnecessarily. I'll wait for a sign before assuming she doesn't want to talk, and usually these signs are somewhat obvious, if understated. I'll also test her likelihood to go along with things I propose in some minor way; if she won't, say, stand up for a quick demonstration of something, odds are she isn't attracted.

@kashchei: As for wanting to pick you up, why would I want to do that? What makes you so special?

edited 15th Sep '11 9:24:27 PM by tropetown

T&A last I checked.

"Girls are conniving liars"? You mean more than people in general?

"kashchei: As for wanting to pick you up, why would I want to do that? What makes you so special?"

Well, the superior reading skill, maybe? The fact that I would not misinterpret someone providing a personal anecdote of what has happened to them in the past as an assumption of your proclivities?

Since this was an utter non sequitur on your part, I'm just going to assume that you're practicing your negging skills on me.

edited 16th Sep '11 9:37:32 AM by kashchei

Er... reasoning from anecdotes and fictional stories is really sort of the default with people. We don't have that much life experience, you know...

Feel free to explain to me how anything I've said translates into me assuming that tropetown is interested in me.

Honestly that last post is rather confusing and out of left field. Please take a calmer, more benevolent attitude and don't write implications between the lines, otherwise it gets very very confusing. I only get away with my (relatively) Literal-Minded Does Not Understand Sarcasm quirks because of my extensive use of comedy and culture to beckon my possible-candidates out of their intellectual comfort zone, keeping them distracted (and pleaed) enough that they don't get to use their normal thinking-modes, because when that happens I'm rather defenseless: I have as much trouble seeing unwarranted insults coming and dexterously looping them around as I have an easy time detecting possible puns and opportunities to quote works of fiction and literature, memes, this site, or Less Wrong. But I'm getting better at it, with practice.

@kash: You didn't get the flowers?

^^ That last post was directed at my brother Kino there, so don't worry about it being too sardonic or otherwise. If you are suggesting that anyone here should dumb down their speech, the short answer is no.

^

edited 16th Sep '11 11:06:38 AM by kashchei

@kash

/broken heart

/edit We're related? Thanks for making it weird.

/edit2 Hmm, that's a valid point; I don't think you're the forums type.

edited 16th Sep '11 11:05:45 AM by Kino

edited 25th Aug '12 2:19:31 PM by JosefBugman

Let's hope so brosef.