A pick up artist is a title that is not given freely but earned through the seduction community that has been built for the past few decades. The term was popularized by the 1970's publication called The Pick Up Times and later grew into a widely used phrase that is still used today. In 2005, Neil Strauss published a book entitled The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pick Up Artists that changed the seduction community forever. A pickup artist is one who is exceptional at finding, attracting, and seducing women or men. What makes pickup artists different from non-pick up artists is their investment in a specific system that is validated by the community.
Every year, I challenge myself to discuss a new communication theory or attempt to disprove the current research that is available. I chose this particular topic because it is quite fascinating and I am curious as to how these types of methods and behaviors truly communicated to pick up artist's selection. I thought that this study would be easy and I would be able to define the theories and effects within a week. However, I have ended up spending the better part of this year researching and fine tuning this information.
After meeting an old pick up artist, I was able to begin to understand the process of how pick up artistry works. No one person can pick up a few pointers from famous pick up artists and walk out of a club with women/men falling entirely all over them. There are many different theories, methods, and tips that change and meld together.
Some researchers say that individuals’ selection of one mate over another happens largely by happenstance (Lykken & Tellegen, 1993). Others will say it is a biochemical reaction in the human body (Fisher, 1992). Yet others suggest that mate selection involves a series of strategies employed by individuals who are attempting to maximize their reproductive value (Buss, 1994). So, where does this fall in the art of picking up someone?
This first article will examine one of the most widely used systems known as The Mystery Method. With the help of ex-pick up artist, Mancer, I was able to further decode the steps and process of the method. Mancer has used The Mystery Method and the Natural Game Method while creating his own system. Mancer says:
"Mystery Method is a lot of science and math. The whole point of it was to make people develop confidence by showing that they could learn to be desirable."
I started to research and try to understand the Mystery Method and wonder truly how far the information went. The issue with researching Pick Up Artistry is that there is not a lot of case studies and scholarly articles about it. In fact, it was easier to research through major forums than it was to research scholarly texts.
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| Mystery. The man behind The Mystery Method. |
Mystery's method is broken into three parts. Attraction, Comfort, Seduction. Those three parts are broken into more parts. But, before this is reviewed, there are a few vocabulary words that must be understood in order to full grasp the concept of The Mystery Method.
- Avatar - Persona. Example: Erik von Markovik's Avatar is Mystery.
- Neg - Playful form of teasing. Example: Turning to your target after you have ignored her for quite sometime to say, "Is she always like this?" to the set you're attempting to impress.
- Gambit - Conversation starter.
- Set - Group of people. Ex: Three men and one woman are considered "a set".
- Stacking - Going from one story to another in order to maintain interest.
- Indicators of Interest Nonverbal (IOIs) - Nonverbal signs that show that a woman is attracted to you.
- Indicators of Disinterest (IODs) - Nonverbal signs that show that a woman isn’t attracted to you.
These are just a few vocabulary words that you will come across in this research. There are hundreds more, depending on what method you are investigating. In order to understand The Mystery Method, one must understand the proper steps. Take a moment to read over the self-acclaimed here: Mystery Method.
Instead of going into major detail in this specific article, it would be best to show you how this method works in the field. Mystery Method in the Field will give you a 10 minute field study in which Mystery picks up a female at a White Party. You will be able to watch the method in action and how cues and how the target communicates drastically affects the method and its direction.
Because so many relationships are initiated through face-to-face interactions, the pool of potential partners available to people typically is limited by individuals’ social network (Parks & Eggert, 1991) Most argue that this method is best used in nightclubs and in large groups. However, this method can be used just about anywhere there is a set available. Most beginning PUAs have a very limited social network and find it difficult to use any method within their reach. In order to truly make the best of their skills, PUAs will have to expand their location efforts.
After researching the method in full, I explained to Mancer that I would never allow myself to be picked up by someone like Mystery. His response?
Instead of going into major detail in this specific article, it would be best to show you how this method works in the field. Mystery Method in the Field will give you a 10 minute field study in which Mystery picks up a female at a White Party. You will be able to watch the method in action and how cues and how the target communicates drastically affects the method and its direction.
Because so many relationships are initiated through face-to-face interactions, the pool of potential partners available to people typically is limited by individuals’ social network (Parks & Eggert, 1991) Most argue that this method is best used in nightclubs and in large groups. However, this method can be used just about anywhere there is a set available. Most beginning PUAs have a very limited social network and find it difficult to use any method within their reach. In order to truly make the best of their skills, PUAs will have to expand their location efforts.
After researching the method in full, I explained to Mancer that I would never allow myself to be picked up by someone like Mystery. His response?
"And then the next morning, when you roll out of his motel bed, you'd go 'Damn. He's still ugly'."
The sad truth is that Mancer isn't wrong. Do these famous PUAs undergo defeat? Do they fail even though they are extremely experienced? Of course they do. PUAs are looking for sexual interaction whether it is to boost their self esteem, define themselves, or the less likely -- looking for a potential mate. Female/male targets are just numbers and quick names to PUAs. The Mystery Method is a series of strategic steps that if followed correctly, will help the PUA land a target 9 times out of 10. PUAs who use the Mystery Method are looking for a way to make themselves more desirable. By reviewing the skills and steps through the Mystery Method, one can easily get through an entire set without issue.
"A woman's brain is hardwired to seek out or mate with her small tribe of 50 people. That is going to increase her survival." - Mystery
According to Richard Dawkins (1989):
This is an extremely difficult question for the evolutionist to answer. Most serious attempts to answer it involve sophisticated mathematical reasoning. I am frankly going to evade it except to say one thing. This is that at least some of the difficulty that theorists have with explaining the evolution of sex results from the fact that they habitually think of the individual as trying to maximize the number of his genes that survive. In these terms, sex appears paradoxical because it is an inefficient way for an individual to propagate her genes: each child has only 50 per cent of the individual's genes, the other 50 per cent being provided by the sexual partner.
According to Richard Dawkins (1989):
This is an extremely difficult question for the evolutionist to answer. Most serious attempts to answer it involve sophisticated mathematical reasoning. I am frankly going to evade it except to say one thing. This is that at least some of the difficulty that theorists have with explaining the evolution of sex results from the fact that they habitually think of the individual as trying to maximize the number of his genes that survive. In these terms, sex appears paradoxical because it is an inefficient way for an individual to propagate her genes: each child has only 50 per cent of the individual's genes, the other 50 per cent being provided by the sexual partner.
According to Dawkins's research, the female instinct is to find someone to mate with, regardless if they plan to procreate or not. Females tend to run more off of emotional need to find the perfect selection among the tribe. Males tend to want their physical needs fulfilled and in some cases, their mental needs as well. However, this is not the mold for every individual in the world. Every target or PUA is different and every attempt at using this method will also vary. Primarily, the community is more obsessed on perfecting methods than on growing a relationship. Many PUAs get so obsessed with perfecting their game that become lost in their social cues.
The “Seduction Community” broadly defines a subculture of men who follow varying philosophies and methods to achieve success with women. Their goal is to transform themselves from what they term “average frustrated chumps” into skilled “pickup artists.” (Clift, 2011)
The Mystery Method, along with other methods, is just a game. The rewards are phone numbers and sexual interactions as opposed to love and lasting relationships. This is extremely unfair to their targets. Their targets might be under the impression that there is love out there and that these PUAs are genuinely interested in pursuing them.
In conclusion, in the seduction community, the need to be successful is dependent solely on the acceptance and sexual rewards that are gained through strategic planning. The Mystery Method is one of the most popular methods used in the seduction community and is the base for most methods used today. While the method is successful, it truly plays on a target's human nature and is done so in a negative fashion.
Buss, D. M. (1994). The evolution of desire: Strategies of human mating. New York: Basic Books.
Clift, Elana. Picking Up and Acting Out: Politics of Masculinity in the Seduction Community. The University of Texas at Austin. May 2007. (Sept. 15, 2011)
Fisher, H. E. (1992). The anatomy of love: The natural history of monogamy, adultery, and divorce. New York: W. W. Norton.
Fisher, H. E. (1992). The anatomy of love: The natural history of monogamy, adultery, and divorce. New York: W. W. Norton.
Lykken, D. T., & Tellegen, A. (1993). Is human mating adventitious or the result of lawful choice? A twin study of mate selection. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 56–68
Parks, M. R., & Eggert, L. L. (1991). The role of social context in the dynamics of personal relationships. In W. Jones & D. Perlman (Eds.), Advances in personal relationships (Vol. 2, pp. 1–34). London: Jessica Kingsley Press.
edit: This Method has served as ground work for current methods, but has been stated to be outdated.
Parks, M. R., & Eggert, L. L. (1991). The role of social context in the dynamics of personal relationships. In W. Jones & D. Perlman (Eds.), Advances in personal relationships (Vol. 2, pp. 1–34). London: Jessica Kingsley Press.
edit: This Method has served as ground work for current methods, but has been stated to be outdated.
