German university teaches nerds to seduce

BOFFINS at the University of Potsdam have decided that their techies need precise instructions in how to seduce and flirt with a member of the opposite sex.

A record number of 440 engineering students have signed up for the 'pick up' course, perhaps hoping that they will find a way to get laid, some for the first time.

The course is run by the engineering department and takes a few weeks. It is only open to those with Masters degrees because those with that level of expertise are probably corespondingly bad at dating skills.

We can see a few things wrong with the basic structure of the course. Firstly it tells you how to compose the perfect message to invite a girl out or seduce someone. Since none of the hacks on the editorial board of the INQ has ever actually broken the ice by emailing someone, we are not sure that this is the best line of attack. But since the course does not seem to involve getting blind drunk at a tech show and flinging yourself at a 1980s porn star, Press Officer or fellow hack we are not sure the INQ method will work with German geeks.

The flirting section of the course involves role playing which most of the geeks are quite good at, having played Dungeons and Dragons since the 1970s. However the first thing that people are told is that the opposite sex is rarely interested in you pretending to be a 20th level druid. Instead they are taught how to walk at a party and how to hold a conversation without giggling or attempting a UNIX joke (They forgot to put the semi colon in, ROFL).

The course is being run by Philip von Senftleben. He is the author of that great German classic book on how to get laid, Flirter Der Womanizer. Apparently the secret to success, which loses a bit in the translation, is "fly quickly to the heart of someone else while remaining completely calm."

A spokesman for the Potsdam University, Hans-Joachim Allgaier was quoted in the German press as denying that the course was hype. He quoted one of the course members as an indication of its success.

The quote, which also loses a bit in the translation, said: "The case studies are always first class, but when it comes to girls I become a donkey. I hope that this course help me to change." We would have thought that being [hung? Ed.] like a donkey would not be too bad, provided that you didn't look like one too. µ