This was the impression I got from the article's tone, as well as your previous comments--an impression of "you should do this for your own good".
Ah. All I said in the original context was that rationality is only an obstacle in social situations if you used it as an excuse to make everything about you and your ideas/priorities/values, and gave the article as some background on the ways that "rational" people sometimes do that. No advice was given or implied.
As for the article's tone, bear in mind that it's a pickup artist's blog (or more precisely, the blog of a trainer of pickup artists).
So, his audience is people who already want to improve their social skills, and therefore have already decided it's a worthy goal to do so. That's why the article doesn't attempt to make a case for why someone would want to improve their social skills -- it is, after all a major topic of the blog.
So, his audience is people who already want to improve their social skills, and therefore have already decided it's a worthy goal to do so. That's why the article doesn't attempt to make a case for why someone would want to improve their social skills -- it is, after all a major topic of the blog.
Yes, this is what I meant when I said I probably wasn't in the target demographic--my social skills are acceptable, but my desire to socialize is fairly low.
Anyway, sorry for the pointless argument, heh.
I've often had half-finished LW post ideas and crossed them off for a number of reasons, mostly they were too rough or undeveloped and I didn't feel expert enough. Other people might worry their post would be judged harshly, or feel overwhelmed, or worried about topicality, or they just want some community input before adding it.
So: this is a special sort of open thread. Please post your unfinished ideas and sketches for LW posts here as comments, if you would like constructive critique, assistance and checking from people with more expertise, etc. Just pile them in without worrying too much. Ideas can be as short as a single sentence or as long as a finished post. Both subject and presentation are on topic in replies. Bad ideas should be mined for whatever good can be found in them. Good ideas should be poked with challenges to make them stronger. No being nasty!