"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro..."
Hunter S. Thompson

i
The author of HOW-2 Meet Women considers himself a card-carrying nerd, even to the extent of wearing a pocket protector. He is, among other things, a programmer, software developer, and technical writer* (author of a Guide and a HOWTO for the Linux Documentation Project and a past contributor to Electronic Design magazine and the Linux Gazette). Although happily married for over a decade, he will never forget his origins, his long lonely bachelor years.

If HMW has something of the flavor of a technical "howto", this is hardly accidental. It approaches the topic from the standpoint of an engineer, stressing algorithms (methods) that facilitate getting the job done. The book is based on the premise that a functional relationship with a woman is as intricate and awe-inspiring a structure as a well-designed suspension bridge or an elegant digital logic circuit. From that point of view, human interaction becomes, in a sense, an elaborate exercise in problem solving, and moreover something that can be codified and taught in bite-sized chunks. A touch of subjectivity and humor flavor the brew, but without diluting its emphasis on the practical. The intended audience is primarily shy single men, but much of the content is gender neutral, and the author has received favorable comment on it from women.

ii
In a bygone era, hard-won wisdom gained from lore and accumulated experience passed from father to son, or from master to apprentice. Guilds and secretive elites jealously guarded specialized knowledge. Keeping the masses ignorant circumscribed their lives and preserved the status quo. The invention of the printing press, and, in our own time, the personal computer changed all that and gave access to virtually unlimited information to any sufficiently motivated literate person. On balance, this seems a favorable development, but it has drastically accelerated the pace of social change and let loose the demon of unbridled technology. It has made possible the publication of information that can cause unintended consequences.


The major advances in civilization are processes that all but wreck the societies in which they occur.
Alfred North Whitehead

There were ethical issues to consider before releasing HOW-2 Meet Women upon an unsuspecting public. Certain of the techniques contained therein could potentially be used by unscrupulous men to seduce and exploit women. Yet, it must be assumed that predators and manipulators already have the requisite knowledge for plying their sinister trade, as indeed they have been with such devastating effect for all of recorded history and beyond. And the need is there, it is painfully obvious, to put shy men on something of an equal footing with their more socially adept fellows. In a sense, this is part of the evolutionary "arms race" between predators and decent people, and any step taken toward equalizing matters is a blow for civilization.



iii
The question naturally arises whether the author is holding anything back, if important revelations and secrets have been omitted from this book. The short answer is a simple yes. Some topics are too inflammatory, ethically ambiguous, or perhaps just a bit too "advanced" to appear in what is essentially a primer on acquiring the social graces and establishing relationships. Moreover, some things are better left undiscussed, remaining to be discovered by those blessed (or damned) few who are capable of coupling bitter experience with rare flashes of insight. The readers of this book, and most of the rest of the human race for that matter, will likely be none the poorer for remaining ignorant of this dangerous higher wisdom.



iv
So, where do we go from here? The author will continue to put words on paper, or, as it were, onto his Web site. You, the reader, will continue your quest, somewhat wiser hopefully, to realize your human potential. Men will continue to seek women, and women men... and the world will go on with business as usual.

The author wishes to bestow his admittedly limited blessings on the readers of HMW. You deserve your shot at happiness. May you have passionate and fulfilling relationships.

Never eat at a place called Mom's. Never play cards with a man named Doc. And never lie down with a woman who's got more troubles than you. --Nelson Algren "What Every Young Man Should Know"

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* The author is available for writing and documentation projects. Fee negotiable.