There is an advantage to datings lots of women with few strings attached: you get to see what a variety of people are like and you get better in maintaining your end of a good relationship.
The no strings aspect just means if the relationship gets sour for whatever reason, its usually not complex to move on: no lawyers, division of property, etc.
Lots of people who date sincerely want to find spouses. They are not mututally inconsistent positions.
I guess I found the advice of playing the field for a decade or more to be extreme, and I got the impression the main advantage to this attitude is that you get to date alot of girls with no strings.
So it didn't really sound like this decade would be spent looking for a meaningful relationship, but rather engaging is seriel relationships that don't amount to anything.
The guy could find a compatible woman his first try but then wind up wasting a decade of his life on meaningless dating.