Hello fellas! Like many of you, I read The Game by Neil Strauss and almost immediately, I was sucked in to the world of PUAs. More than anything it opened my eyes. I became aware of The Matrix. Many months have passed since then, and I just recently picked up a copy of the Mystery Method to try to kick start my stagnant game to the next level. I was blown away by the first three chapters...a powerful introduction, timeless human tendencies that really help you understand social dynamics, and an informative and well written overview of the Mystery Method. I loved where this was going, so much good information already.
I should have stopped there. But I'm glad I didn't, because I learned a much more (unintended) important lesson from this book.
After the first section, the book really takes a sharp turn in a different direction. An extremely scientific, not romantic, direction. Mystery breaks down every aspect of social interaction to the T. And when I say to the T, I mean deeper than some stuff you'd learn in a college sociology/psychology class. You learn how to bend and influence social situations to your benefit...these tactics dive deep into the subconscious building blocks of socialization within all of us, including me and you (maybe there's a good reason why these brain processes are left alone in the subconscious by 99% of the population?...more on this very soon). You're bombarded with technical information on all fronts, and sometimes feel like an 80 year old trying to learn how to use Microsoft Word by studying advanced computer programming.
You're basically learning the social code (like a computer code) of how to become a social programmer. You're also being programmed yourself to, in a sense, become a social robot who strictly follows the social scientific method. Mystery has said it himself... social interactions will become nothing more than "math equations". You'll start seeing the patterns, the equations, friends will become "pivots", nice girls you meet will become "obstacles". The nightclub will become your computer game, and you will become the programmer.
Is this really courtship?
More importantly to some AFCs, will it work? I'm sure it will with devoted practice. But at what cost? This stuff with inevitability trickle down into your relationships with your family and friends. The FUN spontaneity of going out won't be FUN anymore once you truly get this method down, human interaction will simply become patterns, equations, science. Interaction will be the equivalent of solving a calculus problem, with your theories, routines, ability to see past the variables. If you master this material, I think you'll be left very empty inside. You'll cross a dangerous point of no return as a person, incapable of genuine social functioning.
This isn't learning how to TRULY be a romantic and increase your sex appeal.
This isn't courtship, the very thing you got into The Game to TRULY learn.
This isn't making you a better person. Its ONLY positive may be allowing you to obtain more self-confidence, albeit through a misguided way.
Think back to Day 1.....is this really what you got into The Game for?
No. You didn't have it marked down on your to-do list to become a mad professor of psychology and sociology, like a misguided psychiatrist who uses his knowledge of the human mind to sexually attract his patients. Wake up guys: This is one way to get the girl, but deep down this isn't the way you ever wanted to do it and after a while this stuff won't make you happy. You aren't working on deep, internal self-improvement. You're just plugging in the numbers to solve the equation, and correcting one flaw in your life by replacing it with an even deeper, more dangerous flaw.
MY ADVICE: There are good "big picture" points made in this book, and by PUAs in general. Read the first 3 chapters, then maybe the bullet point chapter summaries from there. More than anything else, you just need to be a truly confident man who believes he is worth the girl. You can learn and apply the basics from the PUAs, but from there the ball truly needs to be put back in your court in your own way.
I don't need any more advice from the PUAs, even though they could utterly destroy me in a pick-up contest. We didn't get into The Game to become a mad scientist using the nightclub as our laboratory. Mystery isn't happy, evidenced by his depression and near suicide attempts in Strauss's novel. He went from one end of the spectrum of social ineptness (AFC style), to the complete opposite end (oversocialized...every word, sentence, body movement by anyone or by yourself is just a predictable, programmed response). Sure, he can get girls now. Is that worth everything else that he doesn't even realize he's lost?
In certain areas of life, too much information can be more harmful towards your well-being than not enough information. Don't let this become you! Get the basics down, then strive to become a genuinely better person by just getting out there and trying things out.
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