# How to be street smart

There is a distinction in [understanding](understanding.md) between "book smart" and "street smart":

- Book smart is the stereotypical [educated](education.md) college graduate:
  - They're seen as great at ingesting [lots of information](information.md), [taking tests](mind-memory-tests.md), and possesses lots of [specialized](jobs-specialization.md) information.
  - The implication is that they can be taken advantage of very easily, and have very little skill in navigating the harsher parts of the world.
- Street smart, by contrast, is the stereotypical experienced hustler in an urban ghetto:
  - Able to [sell themselves](marketing-sales.md) and convince others, with a natural [charisma](people-influence.md) and [extraversion](personality-ocean.md).
  - The implication also implies they're generally uneducated, have poor [language](language.md) skills, and have no [compassion for others](people-love.md).

In practice, there is a necessary component for both.

- In all [social classes](classes.md), not *just* the underclass, there are [deceptive](people-lying.md) and [manipulative](people-influence.md) people who will take advantage of others when given the chance.
- In all domains, having [specialized](jobs-specialization.md) information can dramatically change the situation if it happens to be correct for the circumstance.

## Expectations for street smart thinking

Embrace learning through mistakes.

- [Success in general](success-4_persevering.md) requires making mistakes, but treat it like the norm and not the exception.

Expect uncomfortable and uncertain situations.

- Working with people is messy and unpredictable, and even more when working with extremely shrewd and [evil](morality-evil.md) people.
- Given the complexities of a situation and the information you can't know, don't expect any level of planning to prepare you for what may arise.

Stay open to different points of view.

- Don't expect your prior experience to answer your problems as much as new information you don't know yet.
- Others will give you the answers, but you have to watch and wait for them.
- Obsessively shut down any [bias](mind-bias.md) in your mind that prevents you from plainly seeing the facts in front of you.
- This requires constantly being open to the possibility that you have been wrong.

## What to perceive

Learn to be constantly in a state of situational awareness.

- This doesn't mean you're panicky, but that you're alert.
- The [emotional vibe](mind-feelings.md) you give off of being comfortably alert is enough to deter most potential risks for exploitation.

Pay attention to social reality more than technical reality.

- There is often a human reason why things are broken or missing, so stay mindful beyond the direct [physical problem](https://adequate.life/fix/) at hand.
- Your ability to [make friends](people-4_friends.md) with the right people is far more important than your intelligence or [cleverness](mind-creativity.md).

Have a general plan for what you will do in various situations.

- Keep the plans practical and short-term.
- If you ever have to use them, the plans will *not* be followed, since things will change.
- That preparedness, however, tells you what you will need to do next.

You can't be precisely prepared, but you can be *generally* prepared:

- Be [in shape](body-exercise.md)
- Have at least some training in [self-defense](security.md)
- Carry a low-profile weapon
  - It needs to be something nonviolent (e.g., can of mace) or it might cause you [legal trouble](legal-safety.md)

Develop an intuition that you can trust.

- In general, practice [active listening](language-speaking-listening.md) constantly.
- Pay close attention to body language cues that indicate what others may not be saying.
- [Meditate](awareness-meditation.md) on prior successes you've had when your intuition proved to be correct.
- If you feel like something is off or out-of-place, you're probably right.
- Learn to distinguish between feeling comfortable and feeling safe.

## Street smart dialogue

Independently learn [marketing](marketing.md), but in particular [sales](marketing-sales.md).

- You'll need to become familiar with a good sales pitch to perceive when others are using it against you toward their interests.

- "Book smarts" can be very useful to detect [lies](people-lying.md), in particular if you don't indicate to them that you know particular information that they've misstated.

Look closely at what *isn't* being said.

- Often, missing information is obscuring the truth of a situation.

Pay attention to the following forms of information:

1. Irrelevant information to the matter at hand.
   - That information is a misdirection, which means it's hiding something else.
2. Information that should be present, but isn't.
   - That information is important to the other person to not communicate to you, so there's a reason for that obscurity.

## Specific tips

In light of the above, there are many good pieces of wisdom.

- Most of them are "common sense", but often require experience to use them.

Preparedness

- When in public, wear [informal clothing](clothing.md), such as sneakers and thrift store items.
  - Don't carry an expensive bag, purse, or backpack.
- Always keep your wallet in your front pocket.
  - Don't use a chain, since it indicates exactly where the wallet is and an experienced thief knows how to unclasp them.
  - Keep the bulk of your money out of sight, and only pay with the cash you intend to use.
  - When possible, pay with a bank card or your phone more often than cash.
  - Condition yourself to never reach for your wallet, since you may do it instinctively from a planted circumstance and give away where it is.
- Always keep your phone with you.
- Always try to travel with a friend, and never follow a stranger somewhere.
- Be informed about "safe spots" beforehand.
  - This can include police stations, fire stations, hospitals, and places you know friends work.
- In general, watch where suspicious people have their hands.
  - If they're stealing, they'll try to misdirect from what they're doing, or will use an accomplice.

Staying safe on foot

- Try to blend into the environment you're in to avoid drawing attention to yourself.
- Walk confidently wherever you go to avoid looking like an easy mark.
- Walk purposefully, and avoid slowly taking in the scenery (which says you're a [tourist](fun-vacations.md) and have money.
- Make direct eye contact with everyone you encounter.
  - Don't stare them down to antagonize, but show them you're aware of them.
  - It also gives you an opportunity to identify them later if an event does transpire.
- As much as possible, don't deviate from your destination.
  - Avoid dark or isolated areas.
  - Only explore new areas if you know you safe spots within those areas to flee to.

Entering/exiting vehicles and buildings

- Have your keys ready before you enter a vehicle or building to avoid fumbling for them while standing.
- If you're reversing your vehicle and see a flyer on the rear window, turn your car off and lock it as you get out before you remove it.
  - Car thieves will place a flyer on the rear window, and will then jump in the running and unlocked vehicle when the driver gets out to remove it.
- Watch for vans with slide doors parked next to your vehicle.
  - They will open the door, grab people, and close the door to then drive off.

Avoiding stalkers

- When you think you're being followed, make an erratic pathway to confirm it.
  - Drive erratically in and out of a parking lot if you feel you're being tailed.
- Walk on the sidewalk with traffic going the opposite way, which puts distance between you and someone following you, and also gives you more time to react if someone drives into you.
- Turning around provokes followers to hide, so only do it to signal that you're aware of them.
  - Use windows as mirrors to check your blind spots.
  - During the morning and evening, use shadows to see anyone behind you.

Avoiding conflicts

- Walk wide around corners to avoid a surprise attack or awkward run-in.
- Never walk into the street while interacting visually with your phone.
- If you're waiting for mass transit late at night and see a group of young people walking toward you, hide yourself before they see you.
  - There's no guarantee they'll start something, but they're often bored enough to cause trouble just for fun.

Conflicts and legal safety

- Do not engage with crazy people, even if they engage you.
  - Put your phone to your ear and start talking, even if there's nobody on the phone with you.
- If you feel things may take a turn for the worse, leave.
- The police will always take the side of the calmer speaker, no matter the circumstances.
  - If you're arrested, say nothing and ask for a lawyer. If your lawyer shows up, say nothing until you're privately consulting with them.

Severe risks

- If you fear someone is targeting you, stay in a public, open place.
  - Find a service worker (especially a female one) and indicate you fear of being followed. They'll likely assist you.
- If you feel unsafe, make a public spectacle of the situation to prevent subversive behavior.
  - Never let anyone take you to a secondary location, and fight with everything you have to prevent that from happening.
  - Instead of screaming "help!", use more specific things like "fire!", "they have my child!" or "get your hands off me!"
  - Don't follow an attractive woman who approaches you at a bar and recommends another bar. They're "pullers" who are paid to send you to a team of muggers.