Holy insanity
I hope that person finds more confidence and especially starts having fun, because that's what dating can be.
But yeah, if I learned that a potential match did this to me, well, I think that would change a lot in my evaluation of that person as a partner.
Comparing ourselves to others is probably built into our DNA. Most primates also have a social hierarchy. A human who didn't somewhat obsessively socially compare himself to others and/or self reflect on his behavior might have been thrown out of the tribe because he would never self correct.
Sure, humans like being healthy and strong and sociable.
But natural selection doesn't care about that either, per se. That's just a small slice of what natural selection can result in.
(tangentially related recommended reading https://danluu.com/p95-skill/ )
It could be more valuable and interesting to just provide dating anecdotes. I’m not sure there’s value in presenting that experience as a half-digested diagnosis about what’s wrong.
Especially when it comes with so many hidden assumptions about how things have to be and the inevitable projections of their own experiences and expectations onto the lives of others.
Why would you just link it without a comment?
I would imagine they linked it because it's a great read and they figured others would be interested. ACX is extremely well known around here, I'm surprised you're unfamiliar.
Scott runs creative writing contests for his readers, this was one of the finalists. I think you're reading far more seriously into a writing exercise than necessary, which I'd imagine is why you were left bothered by it.