Uncommon Common Sense
An Anatomy of Peril
by
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Chapter Three SITUATIONAL AWARENESS
Helpful Insights in Response to Danger
You have to see to observe, but you cannot see what is not already in the mind.78
David Majors
Hazardous conditions, unsafe behavior, and a waiting criminal are the causes of injury and victimization. Fate or bad luck does not cause them. Wishing and hoping will not make mishap go away.
David Majors, above, is simplifying the truism expressed by historian James Burke who stated, "Reality is in the brain before it is experience, or else the signal we get would not make sense."79 Burke reminds us that what we see depends on what we know. What we know affects our choices. What we know also affects how we see the world around us. What we see today is not what we will see tomorrow, for tomorrow our knowledge will expand. With that knowledge, we can recognize and observe what had been hidden, unrecognizable, and unobservable before.
Without training and knowledge, your reflexes and thought processes may not take you out of harm’s way. Your natural response might not save you if you get into an accident or become a victim of a crime. The best way to avoid a tragedy is to prevent it. But how do you do this? You do it with a knowledge that allows you to predict and recognize danger, and plan an appropriate response if you are unable to avoid it. Finally, you must know how to survive if you missed all the warning signs.
The knowledge of how accidents and crime occur yields the information you need to teach yourself how to detect, prevent, and deal with mishap. Knowing yourself, and having options to employ, coupled with knowing the psychology of the criminal will help you survive an encounter with him.
Beginning to know yourself is your first object in safety. Knowing your environment and others becomes your second task. This chapter will help you in this first task. It is about how you think and behave in the realm of your safety and the assessments needed to make yourself and loved ones safer.
Chapter Four
CONCEALED THOUGHTS
Body Language
Language was invented so that people could conceal their thoughts from each other.
Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand 96
Sherlock Holmes remarked to Dr. John H. Watson, "I can never bring you to realize the importance of sleeves, the suggestiveness of thumbnails, or the great issues that may hang from a bootlace."97 Holmes was calling Watson’s attention to the art of reading the silent language spoken by all of us. It is a nonverbal world that rises from the emotions. Understanding this world can help us in all areas of our lives.
It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the more important.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Once upon a time, an ability to analyze human behavior was a purely intuitive art. You now have the help of various experts and their research on this subject. These experts include anthropologists, psychiatrists, psychologists, neuroscientists, neurophysiologists, and neuroanatomists, With this help, anyone can quickly learn to read the nonverbal cues of facial expressions, gestures, body positioning and movement, dress modes, and other behavior.
These cues can provide an insight into the true feelings of the person observed. Anthropologist Edward T. Hall wrote, "I have learned to depend more on what people do than what they say in response to a direct question, to pay close attention to that which they cannot consciously manipulate, and to look for patterns rather than content."98
While this chapter is a mere introduction to the subject of our nonverbal language, you will find an overview of our nonverbal world, the neural-mental-muscular process, and a discussion of some pertinent research in the field. You will also find training scenarios and specific nonverbal behavior with discussions of their cues and cluster meanings.
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About the Book
This book is a primer on unsafe and deviant human behavior, the body language of those that would harm you, and the danger signs of mishap. It is a must read for those who intend to become more self-reliant in their safety by recognizing accidents and crime before they occur. With examples and preventive methods, this book will change for the better your awareness and perception that allows you to recognize the risks, threats, and perils in your everyday life. This book is also a study of sexual lust, negligence, victims, and predators. The different types of criminals such as burglars, Carjackers, pedophiles, rapists, murderers, mass murderers, workplace violence and serial sexual killers, stalkers, kidnappers, and terrorists are discussed.
About the Author
Mr. Valadez is a 25-year veteran of the FBI, where his duties included protecting the