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The Mystery Method is a method of seduction first popularized by Erik Von Markovik a.k.a "Mystery". The system was initially outlined in posts on the newsgroup alt.seduction.fast. Since October 2006, Mystery is no longer part of the Mystery Method's website, and he has launched his own company.

Mystery is responsible for coining a lot of terminology now used in the world of seduction: such as "3 second rule", "set", "peacocking", "indicator of interest", "indicator of disinterest", "last minute resistance", "routine", "neg hits", "canned material", etc^[1]. The Mystery Method is now marketed online, via books, DVD sets, and most notably, live seminars and coaching with various instructors, including Markovik himself.

Contents 1 Basic concepts 2 The M3 Model 2.1 Step 1: Attraction 2.2 Step 2: Comfort 2.3 Step 3: Seduction 3 'Negs' 3.1 Disqualification theory 4 Indicator of interest 5 Popular culture 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

Mystery Method uses the term 'value' to describe the benefit of aligning with a person or group with the potential to improve one's reproductive chances (Replication value) or quality of life (Survival value). A big, alpha male poses a large possible threat to other males' S&R value, where a very attractive woman possesses high R value. According to Mystery, women evaluate potential mates primarily in terms of the Survival value they offer, while men evaluate potential mates in terms of their Replication value.

Mystery Method teaches that people have a strong emotional reaction to people with significantly higher value. Men will have an emotional reaction to very attractive women. This emotional reaction causes them to feel an adrenaline rush, and to act in a 'weird' way around the target female. An exceptionally attractive woman causes this reaction in the majority of men, so the method teaches that she will subconsciously believe that any male who appears emotionally unreactive to her is of higher value than she, and she will become attracted to him.

Many of the techniques taught as part of the method are ways for the user to demonstrate high 'value'. Examples include story-telling with embedded (but well-concealed) bragging, appearing emotionally unreactive to 'targets', and showing that the user is 'pre-selected' by other women. These techniques, along with many others, are taught as part of the 'M3 Model'.

The rhetoric and vocabulary underpinning Mystery Method borrows heavily from Evolutionary Psychology - for instance 'love' as an objective of human sexual relationships is replaced with pair bonding, which he defines as a strong bond between two individuals which is based on the subconscious desire to raise their Survival and Replication values.

The Mystery Method M3 Model is divided into 3 steps: Attraction, Comfort and Seduction, each of which is divided into 3 phases. The Method teaches a set of strategies and tactics for each phase to successfully move the interaction forward toward the end goal, which is the creation of an intimate sexual relationship.

The goals of the 'Attraction' phase are: to start a conversation with the target ('Opening'); demonstrate high 'value' to the 'target' in order to build her attraction to the pickup artist ('Female to Male interest'); and to appear to become increasingly attracted to her, for reasons other than her looks, while making her increasingly invested in the interaction ('Male to Female interest').

In the 'Comfort' phase, the pickup artist attempts to establish rapport, trust, connection and a sense that the interaction is real and genuine. According to the Mystery Method, "the game is played in comfort". It is the longest and most crucial step and generally takes several hours, possibly over the course of several days, to complete. Mystery writes that of the average 4 to 10 hours (cumulatively) it takes to build a connection sufficient for the initiation of a sexual relationship, as much as 90% will be spent in the comfort-building phase.

The 'Seduction' phase is the physical escalation towards sex and dealing with a woman's natural apprehension towards sex with a new partner. It also includes dealing with Last Minute Resistance (LMR), for which the Mystery Method advocates freeze-outs in which the pickup artist agrees with the resistance ("you're right, we shouldn't be doing this"), withdrawing and re-directing the situation to something boring like playing cards.

Media attention directed towards the Mystery Method often mentions the concept of 'negs' as an example of what the method teaches. The oft-quoted example is the comment:

• "Nice nails, are they real? No? Oh, well they're nice anyway."

Negs are intended to be false disqualifiers and are intended to lower the target's comparative value to the seducer. Specifically, they are not insults; instead, they resemble the comments of a person who does not view the target as being sexually interesting.

In his television interview with The View, Neil Strauss explains that some men will demonstrate lack of interest by passively ignoring a woman; but since she doesn't notice him, she won't know that he is not interested. Therefore the purpose of the neg is to actively demonstrate lack of interest by disqualifying one's self as a suitor ("It's too bad I'm gay or you'd be so my type"), or by falsely disqualifying the target ("You are too much of a nice girl for me").

According to the method, a proper neg never makes the target feel insulted or degraded, but rather questions whether the man approaching her has fallen under her spell. Women of particular beauty often tend to assume males approaching them are interested in them solely as a result of their looks, and negs attempt to neutralize that assumption by demonstrating that the man is not (yet) interested in her, despite her beauty. A successful neg may cause the target to feel self-conscious and attempt to regain control of the situation by qualifying herself.

Disqualification Theory is an expansion of the neg. It is a social tactic based on the idea that what a woman can't have, she wants more. It is a large part of indirect game as it can disarm a woman by keeping her from thinking that the man is hitting on her. It can correlate to preselection theory as well; if a man is taken, he is like a forbidden fruit to other women.

A disqualifier is the direct application of the disqualification theory. Examples of disqualifiers:

• "If I weren't gay, you'd be so my type."
• "I've got something to tell you...there's something in your teeth."

An indicator of interest is seduction community jargon for either verbal and nonverbal communications between two people that conveys (usually sexual) interest. ^[2] The term was coined by Mystery, and is often abbreviated "IOI." Sinn, the lead instructor for The Mystery Method Corporation (see below) stated in an interview that in all social communications between men and women, "[everything is] either a demonstration of higher value, a demonstration of lower value, an indicator of interest, or an indicator of disinterest."

Indicators of interest are part of flirting. Examples of nonverbal indicators of interest can involve touching (kino (haptics)), fidgeting, eye contact, and body language cues, such as Proteans. Verbal indicators of interest can range in subtlety from statements such as "Did that hurt?" (referring to a piercing), asking a stranger for his name, to "Wow, you're amazing." Generally, after three indicators of interest, one has built enough attraction to move to qualification.

However, you may also receive Indicators of disinterest (IOD), which shows that a woman is not interested in you. Some examples would be her turning her back to you, not paying attention to what you are doing or simply leaving. Receiving an IOD doesn't mean you lost the girl, getting them mixed with IOI's can even be a good thing. ^[3]

Mystery Method is portrayed in CSI:Miami episode The Score^[4].

• Erik von Markovik
• Neil Strauss
• Dating Coach
• Seduction Community
• The Pick-up Artist (TV series)

1. ^ http://www.fastseduction.com/acronyms.shtml
2. ^ Strauss, Neil, The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists (2005), ISBN 0-06-055473-8
3. ^ 'Mystery Method Truth: A Realistic Review'
4. ^ http://www.five.tv/programmes/drama/csimiami/episodeguide/series4/?episode=12

1. Strauss, Neil (2005), The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists, Regan Books, ISBN 0-06-055473-8
2. Mystery (2004), The Venusian Arts Handbook, Mystery Method
3. Mystery and Lovedrop (2004), Mystery Video Archive Encyclopedia

• The Venusian Arts Website - Mystery's new site
• The Mystery Method