Posted on 12/24/2015 10:22:01 AM PST by Baynative
There's a scene at the beginning of The Bourne Identity where the film's protagonist is sitting in a diner, trying to figure out who he is and why he has a bunch of passports and a gun stashed in a safety deposit box. Bourne also notices that he, well, notices things that other people don't.
~snip~
...situational awareness is simply knowing what's going on around you. It sounds easy in principle, but in reality requires much practice. And while it is taught to soldiers, law enforcement officers, and yes, government-trained assassins, it's an important skill for civilians to learn as well. In a dangerous situation, being aware of a threat even seconds before everyone else can keep you and your loved ones safe.
(Excerpt) Read more at artofmanliness.com ...
That there what's known as an "anomaly".
All this about situational awareness. One step beyond that is making just enough of an impression on the waitress that you have an alibi.
Ditto on what you said. Grew up in similar circumstance but the bad sectors had to be transited. You also learn to pay attention to eye head swiveling towards an area you can’t see directly, say beind a parked van. One person turning his attention, may be nothing, two or more, especially not moving together, might be something. They start moving a bit more quickly you might want get some distance before moving into that zone. Watching two or more guys approaching begin to split, left and right, maybe center guy slows up, you’re watching a box open up, guess who’s the present.
Jason Bourne goes to a restaurant and scopes out all the dangerous people.
Me, I go to a party and look for drunk chicks.
Bookmark!
It’s difficult to get people to be aware these days, especially if they need to put effort into it & learn a new ways of being. I live right outside a major metro area & when I go downtown & see people on their various devices in public...I just can’t understand it.
You need to also catch “micro-expressions”. There’s some great stories on the net about this & how it’s saved people’s lives.
One and the same, really.
Saving this for later. Good stuff here!
Exercise to increase your awareness:
Need a partner to work with you on this. Get some cardboard stock and create a bi-fold with a series of numbers on it. Start with 20 and increase to (eventually) 100.
Partner A takes the bi-fold cards and goes on a walk through the neighborhood. Partner A places the bi-fold around the neighborhood on or at an interesting item. It could be a crack in the sidewalk, an unusually colored rock, a house number, etc. Partner A then writes down the “item”.
Partner B then follows after a few min and at a normal walking pace, without any writing aids, makes a mental note of each bi-fold card and what was interesting about that number. At most, they are allowed to walk around the item ONCE, but then must move on. Partners C, D, E (others) can do likewise if this is an exercise for a group.
At the end, Partner A re-walks the route and picks up the bi-fold cards. Also, the others then write down from memory, without consulting the others, what was interesting about each number.
Helps to improve focus, memory and powers of observation.
After a lifetime of military and LE service and experience, this stuff just comes naturally to me. In fact, my wife knows exactly where to sit when we go out to eat. I’m always scanning my surroundings. A few times I’ve seen individuals who seemed to looking for a victim. But once they know I see them, they lose interest in me. It also helps that I’m tall and broad shouldered and I have “that look”. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been traveling and I’m walking down the street and a hooker asks me if I’m a cop.
“One and the same, really. “
Yeah, if there’s a crazy woman in the room, I can find her.
Crazy chicks are always the best in bed. :)
“Crazy chicks are always the best in bed. :)”
...if you’re not afraid to go to sleep next to them.
Good links at the end of the article for those who didn’t read it. One is an auto download, “Toward a Theory of Situation Awareness” by Dr. Mica Endsley. Dr. Mica Endsley is the Chief Scientist at the U.S. Air Force. While Dr. Endsley’s paper is pretty technical, she does a fantastic job explaining the minutia and nuances of situational awareness that helped clarify a few things for me. I highly recommend you check it out.”
In driving I used what I learned from playing touch football. Keeping people out of my bubble! Being aware of where everyone was and knowing where I wanted to go. Visual learner, too, so that helped. I bet oral learners depend on their hearing a lot.
Who’s sleeping???!?
“Who’s sleeping???!?”
I am. Not to brag, but afterwards I do need a nap.
Bookmark for when I’m not drinking!
I never ever sit with my back to the door. Ever. It’s one of my rules.
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