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Found this online:
First off, I've NEVER known a person whose dating life was turned around by PUA (Pick up artist industry) techniques and could prove it. Not one. The successes exist only in the fake testimonials and scripts of PUA gurus like David DeAngelo, Ross Jefferies, Mystery, etc.
PUA shares a lot of features of multi level marketing (MLM) in that it's a lot of hype around a guru or "system" with big promises, yet the majority of followers don't get the results promised. So they are told to practice further or to blame themselves, because the system "works" and is perfect. It's like a religious belief. So any failure of the system is attributed to the followers of the system, who are told to blame themselves, rather than the system itself.
I think there is a ton of hype and bad marketing out there for this stuff. That I agree with. Style said as much in his book. The system is not perfect - the sucessful ones (yes, we do exist) have created our own spin on it but the basis of it is pretty sound. I don't think you'll find any success stories out there if someone follows the books like a robot- no more, no less.
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It's all a con game based on false premises and flaws designed to profit those who start the system or program.
PUA offers a hyped "system" with big promises that doesn't really deliver, giving its followers something to believe in, and taking advantage of them.
It promises a formula of techniques that will "create" attraction. Yet in reality attraction doesn't work that way. Being cocky and funny (David DeAngelo's approach), for example, may get some airhead girls to laugh at you, but it's not going to create attraction from a girl who isn't attracted to you. Get real.
Do you believe all attraction is based on physical attributes? There are lots of guys (not talking pick-up "students") who end up with women who are out-of-their-league hot. There's a mental and social aspect to attraction. For example, intelligence is a turn-on for me.
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They claim to help you acquire social skills, which are either defined as manipulation/persuasion techniques or tact/diplomacy skills to help you get along with others. Such may help you to get along with others, such as coworkers, the cashier at the grocery story, and help you stay on other people's good side. But again, it's not going to create attraction where there is none.
For PUA techniques to work, the girl has to ALREADY be attracted to you. There has to be a pre-existing attraction for it to spice up, in which case you don't even need PUA. But it's not going to create attraction out of nothing. Anyone who claims it does is either lying, BSing, conning you, or in denial and probably has little or no experience with real human relationships.
In reality, humans and their behavior do not fit into "formulas". Any attempt to fit them into such usually fails and lacks understanding of the complexities and unpredictability of human nature. Anyone with real experience in relationships knows this.
Real social skills have nothing to do with formulas, but are about being attuned and aware of subtle messages and body language from others and having the sense and insight to act accordingly, with tact and diplomacy. Everyone is different and require different types of communication/social skills to deal with. The social skills you need to get along with others in American settings, for instance are very different in Japan, and vice versa. It takes insight and experience to be able to "read others".
There are social skills that will help you get along and work harmoniously with others (as long as they are not like oil and water to you). But there are no "social skills" that will make you attractive to the majority of women you meet who don't find you attractive. No way. Only in PUA material does such exist, not in real life. It's a totally delusional system, made evident by the lack of results.
None of the PUA gurus have any real proof that their "system" works reliably for the majority of people, even if it really does work for them personally. Instead, they expect you to take all their big claims on faith, and many are gullible enough to do just that, cause many disgruntled men who follow them need something to believe in that gives them hope and gives them the illusion that they are in control.
I have no idea if it works for a majority of people. But I don't think there's any harm in someone trying to see if it's right for them. Start small. I paid 20 bucks for a book and I did become more social because of it. You can call that a scam, but I thought it was worth it. I'm sure other posters here think so too.