How do these one-off encounters work?

Can they lead to a healthy relationship? Yes. Why? Because the whole premise is that two people are doing something enriching together (volunteer work, hobbies, personal/professional development) and when you meet someone out at these kind of events there's usually also other things you have in common since people who are alike tend to gravitate towards each other.

I have gone to hobby and personal development groups and met a guy who I really clicked with who asked me out and we dated for a little bit. He was nice but ended up being allergic to cats and dogs so it didn't work out.

Physical attraction is important, especially if you're wantong a romantic relationship and expect to be kissing and having sex with someone, so I'm not sure why you're not happy about that? That spark is your body telling you they like his DNA. It's a good thing. Love at first sight doesn't exist, BUT we shiuld listen to our bodies and instincts when it comes to letting our natural desires lead the eay to a healthy mate who'll give us healthy kids. That spark is jist your body letting your brain know that they'd likely make healthy babies. Nothing less, nothing more. True love comes from deep connection but you gotta date to get there.

It's kinda similar to how difficult it is to find friends as an adult but it's 20x harder because finding a scrote who's gonna be a suitable husband became more difficult after male podcast and redpill clickbait got normalized.

Honestly this is why fds is crucial.

Good question.

Going with what we know of men (i.e. that the average man is low value), most men in these scenarios aren’t anything to write home about. Do some women find HV men in such scenarios? Yes but that is rare.

You’re right that since there’s not a lot of time a woman would have to get to know a man in such a scenario, the man can only be basing most of his interest on her looks. If he is a quality man, the short interaction they had + her looks will make him pursue her but the typical man will be focussed on the woman’s looks only which is what will drive him to pursue her.

That is why in every scenario a woman meets a man, she should vet him hard. You cannot trust a man fully until you’ve seen many facets of his personality. Some men will show their crazy side right off the bat while others are like onions, in that there are many layers to them and only time will show who they really are.

So in conclusion, a woman meeting a man in a one-off work encounter shouldn’t trust the “connection” she had with a guy. She would need to vet, vet and vet and yes, the biggest reason why a man in this scenario (and others) would pursue the woman is for looks. If he’s an evolved men, their interaction and her looks will be why he pursues her.