To say that a "pick-up" in the singular comes about through more than manipulation or deception, or that it is about expressing yourself honestly, etc. is just incorrect. Nobody has ever ached to "get a female's opinion," or ask if "you see that fight outside." The pick-up may indeed be an art, but that does not make it the undeniable, most legitimate way to meet women that most here make it out to be. Many who post here argue that the Pick-up is about finding and building relationships, but those same people base their opinions on coming up with ways to meet women at bars. I don't have scientific proof, but I am willing to bet that for every life-long relationship started in a bar with published pick-up techniques, there are hundreds that don't make it to the next morning.
While Ryan may have come off as a dick, I have yet to read a compelling argument for the pick-up as more than a means to a short tryst, and for that I hope I hope to come off as as much of a dick to warrant a reasonable response.