The need for basic game skills is still high

The need for basic game skills is still high and will probably always be high. I was listening to a first date in a tea shop, where this not-bad-looking guy had this ugly girl out with him.

She had this terrible piercing in her nose and looked a decade older than she likely is. And almost the entire date was her talking about her experiences in China and traveling, and all the guy would say is, "Very cool," over and over again. Like 97% of the date was her talking about super non-sexual stuff, like she would to a girl friend, and the guy listening like he was getting paid to hear this girl's blather. When a girl talks, it's usually a sign of investment, and that's great: but if she's leading because there's a leadership vacuum that guy isn't filling, that's terrible. This girl was having a friendly chat and the guy should have seized the conversation and redirected to sexier topics.

However hard the guys in the pickup scene may be on themselves, they are likely doing better than this guy. In my mind I was shouting, "Seize frame!" at him, but nothing happened.

Applying a tiny amount of basic game knowledge would improve that guy's dating immeasurably. But: "Most guys don’t care much about getting laid, I hypothesize."