Originally Posted by
Ancient Diver
A retired FBI profiler wrote a book on what people, and women in particular, need to do to keep themselves safe from predators and serial killers. Her name is Mary Ellen O'Toole, PhD, and her book is Dangerous Instincts: Use an FBI Profiler's Tactics to Avoid Unsafe Situations. In her book she states "trust your instincts" is the worst possible advice a person can follow. She points out that if she - a person with decades of experience interviewing and dealing with the nation's "worst of the worst serial killers", with all the resources of one of the world's top crime fighting organizations, assisted by having a PhD in criminal psychology from a top university, that if SHE can not identify who is a monster and who is not, based on casual conversations and day-to-day interactions, with all of her training and experience backing her up, then it is absurd - stunningly ludicrous - for a lay person to think that they can rely on their instincts - because they can not.