He Does Have A Point

Megan McArdle is making fun of pick up artists. My favorite bit, however, is this earnest commenter:

Megan et. al.: I asked in the last thread, and got only deafening silence, so I'll ask again: For heterosexual men who lack the skill set required to attract a woman-- which is surely a non-trivial segment of the male population, given the demand for pickup artist services, sex workers, and the like-- do you have a better suggestion on where they should seek the information and training they need to succeed at what is traditionally considered a vital part of the human condition, or is this solely a case of mocking the only avenue of help available to a segment of the population that's suffering? If a man has tried "being himself" and "liking himself for who he is" and all the other hoary advice offered to men so situated, only to continue to fail with no reason to think things are going to get better, what would you suggest he do if not seek the advice of the pickup artist community? If the choice is to get help from the only game in town, prostitution, or indefinite celibacy, then I'm hard-pressed to see how getting help from an admittedly cheesy outfit is anything other than the best of three bad choices.

The man has a point and at least he's being honest. As George Constanza said (I'm paraphrasing), "They don't want me, they want someone with hair, a job, and who makes more money."