Beta Path To Love

Those in the "Pickup Artist" community claim that looks don't matter; it's all about technique. Well, I've got the techniques down, and I'm still always going home alone, whereas my friend is constantly hooking up. He's a 6'2", traditionally handsome alpha male. (He looks like he could have been a quarterback.) I'm 5'9", with a face grandmas love to pinch. I could lose some weight, but I've been told I'm cute and have beautiful eyes. Am I looking for excuses, or is technique not all it's cracked up to be?

--Overlooked

Any guy can learn Pickup Artist techniques. Any guy who is 6'2" and has a jawline like cut glass is more likely to have them pay off. In fact, certain guys -- the cuddly grandma-pleasers -- may be wasting their time trying to get casual sex. As evolutionary psychologists Dr. Glenn Geher and Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman write in Mating Intelligence Unleashed, research suggests that men who are not "tall, masculine, muscular, facially attractive, and socially dominant ... are not likely to be successful in short-term mating." Geher and Kaufman suggest that guys who lack that "constellation of features" are probably better off taking the long view -- developing relationships with women seeking partners instead of hookup partners. In doing that, they say technique also matters -- being assertive, confident, easygoing, and sensitive (without being wimpy). Follow their advice and in addition to all the women putting their hands on you in an "Oh, those dimples! Grandma's gonna eat you up!" kind of way, you should eventually have one doing it in an "I sure hope my late grandma can't see what we're about to do" kind of way.