The Safety Doc Podcast

Joe Dolio is a USMC Veteran with over 20 years in corporate security investigations as a Certified Fraud Examiner and Certified Forensic Interviewer. He is a KyoSaNim (Instructor) and Second Degree Black Belt in Tang Soo Do. Joe is adept in situational awareness and successfully negotiating exits from chaotic environments. He curates the website tactical-wisdom.com which is a repository for his posts about personal safety and grounded wisdom. Read the full blog post for episode #142 at safetyphd.com. SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. Joe distinguishes between intelligence and information. People tend to source information from rumors or from the media instead of getting out and verifying things for themselves. “My cousin’s friend knows a guy…” is information - it is NOT intelligence. What did you do to verify that information? Joe heard that Detroit area hospitals were crowded with COVID19 patients - TV images suggested jammed parking lots and M*A*S*H-like field hospitals popping up across the city. Questioning this information, he drove to the hospitals and found that the parking lots weren’t overflowing as depicted by the media or embellished in personal stories. Grocery stores were also among the places visited by Joe at the onset of the coronavirus as he observed human behavior - how people were “feeling” about the pandemic - calm, nervous, totally panicked! He found that people’s behaviors weren’t necessarily matched to what was authentically happening with the supply chain. MUSTERING YOUR MEMBER CHECK NETWORK - AN APP TO VERIFY INFO. Face validity (face validity is a simple test of asking if what I’m observing makes sense - think of a thermometer that reports 80 degrees during a snowstorm - that’s an error in face validity) is amplified by building a carefully vetted, trained, and coached group of like-minded people who are able to authentically observe and report what they experience in their environments. Joe noted that members of his network used the Solocator app which allowed them to take photos that were automatically tagged with time stamps and GPS coordinates. His network debriefed daily and used Google documents to aggregate data and identify trends. OPTIONS IF TRAPPED IN CAR DURING PROTEST. It’s on everyone’s mind...what if I’m in my car and inadvertently get caught in a protest? It might be an inconvenience - or it might escalate into a dangerous situation. First, Joe advises to check for scheduled protests if traveling and to steer clear of those areas. If you are in your vehicle and caught within a group of protesters, he reminds people of their options to: (1) keep moving (not to collide with people); (2) reverse course - even if it means driving the wrong way or skipping the median; or, in extreme situations, (3) abandon your vehicle if the protests have become violent and you judge your life is in peril and that you have time to get to a safer location. HOW TO GO STEALTH. Joe attended [peaceful] protests as an observer and noted the security teams deployed by protest groups (not the government) to monitor vehicles and people that appeared to be watching the protesters instead of participating in the protest. Joe dressed in jeans, a hoodie, and a baseball cap and kept a change of clothes in his backpack. He shared this information to help people learn how to blend in and get away from impromptu crowds - and noted protests were happening in grocery store parking lots across his city. Have the ability to quickly change your profile. SHOULD I WEAR A BODY CAM? Joe wears a body cam for his professional work and notes that a decent body cam with video and audio costs less than $100. His recommendation is Mini Gadgets Camstick1080p which clips into a pocket. He believes that gun owners should absolutely have a body cam to provide contextual evidence if they decide to use deadly force. Additionally, automotive dash cams are affordable and invaluable during a disputed accident. Check your state’s laws regarding one or two party consent to record. WHAT TO HAVE IN YOUR FIRST AID - DUCT TAPE. Joe insists that duct tape is a staple of every first aid kit. For more on this topic, read his blog post at https://tactical-wisdom.com/2020/07/07/first-aid-skills/ LEARN BASIC SELF DEFENSE. Check out your local dojo for martial arts courses. Get a gym membership and learn to spar and box. Could you defend yourself if someone attempted to tackle you? FOLLOW DR. PERRODIN: Twitter @SafetyPhD and subscribe to The Safety Doc YouTube channel & Apple Podcasts. SAFETY DOC WEBSITE & BLOG: www.safetyphd.com. The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David Perrodin, PhD. ENDORSEMENTS. Opinions are those of the host & guests. The show seeks to bring forward productive discourse on topics relevant to personal or community safety. This is episode 142 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 7-6-2020.

• Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Book: School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com

Philipp Heinrich is an entrepreneur, security instructor, and weapons trainer in Germany. He’s an oracle of face validity and recognizes both gradual and rapid nuances in society. Are Germans smashing into Finite Voltage? How does it manifest? Is anyone spared? Read the full blog post for episode #141 at safetyphd.com. ABOUT PHILIPP HEINRICH. Philipp started his career in security working as a night watchman while attending university. After working in human relations and studying business psychology, he decided to become an entrepreneur at the age of 24 and sold his business 3 years later. Returning to his passion of teaching security and weapons training, he is now working as a security instructor and business consultant. FACE VALIDITY IN GERMANY - SCARCITY MINDSET OR LUXURY BINGE? Phil noted that things continue to rapidly change in Germany. He shared that the government put forth several economic stimulus initiatives for citizens including tuition and job training. As grocery stores presented with partially-filled shelves and limited hours, the cause was less a direct response to the virus pandemic and more attributable, per Phil, to people choosing not to work and accept government payments. He shared that stores are, surprisingly, flush with comfort items - trinkets, toys, etc. As a lifelong resident of Germany, Phil pointed out that these items are not ordinarily found on store shelves this time of year. CROWD IN THEORY. Commonly associated with economics, “Crowd In” theory also has a psychological interpretation described as people feeling they need to surround themselves with “comfort” items during a time of crisis - when they think they might be bound to their home for a long period of time. This is an intriguing concept and much different from “Scarcity” theory which fueled runs on toilet paper and pasta. Phil stated that video game systems had been sold out for three months and that it was impossible to even locate refurbished laptops. Doc and Phil unpacked Crowd In theory and recognized that observing it denotes that people believe a chaos event will be of a long duration. After purging the soup aisle, shoppers ramble their carts to the interior paint department. Phil perceives that elderly people in Germany remember World War II and how having physical possessions was deemed more important than money. MEASURING FINITE VOLTAGE. When the news of the pandemic stay-at-home orders were delivered at Phil’s workplace, he observed some co-workers immediately panic and embellish worst-case scenarios as if they had already come to fruition. He was shocked that some of the people that had been based in STEM and empirical processes were suddenly occupied with conspiracy theories and sought confirmation bias for their irrational, paranoid mindset. Phil judged that older Germans have become both anxious and reserved as they enter a fourth month of pandemic lockdowns or civil unrest curfews. The working class is choosing to limit participation in the workforce although the government is offering generous paid training and paid positions. Phil shared that high unemployment figures are, in part, due to people unwilling to accept training or jobs of manual labor, business, security, IT, etc. Finite Voltage becomes difficult to measure when people exist in an artificial environment that offers cash not to work. Doc and Phil speculate how this context might separate people from agency and purpose. Existing, but for what reason other than to exist? WHAT PREPARED PHIL FOR 2020? Phil is trained in a civilian defense role that is similar to how the National Guard in America would deploy after a natural disaster. He’s served in medical support and in technical support to the fire department. Familiar with safety systems, Phil is cognizant of safety bravado and leaders choosing to fatigue protocols. He tells a story of participating in a routine civil defense drill in late February that involved spraying water from fire hoses. Phil spoke up and suggested that participants wear face masks to prevent inhalation of dirt or other particulate matter within the water aerosol (this was prior to COVID19 fears). He was aware of Legionnaires disease - which is caused as bacteria spreads through mist. And, water pumped from standing ponds or stagnant reserves isn’t anything you would drink without boiling. Sadly, leaders and peers shrugged off his recommendations. Phil noted that this “it won’t happen to me” response was in line with society’s overall tendency to downplay risks. FOLLOW DR. PERRODIN: Twitter @SafetyPhD and subscribe to The Safety Doc YouTube channel & Apple Podcasts. SAFETY DOC WEBSITE & BLOG: www.safetyphd.com. The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David Perrodin, PhD. ENDORSEMENTS. Opinions are those of the host & guests. The show seeks to bring forward productive discourse on topics relevant to personal or community safety. This is episode 141 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 6-29-2020.

• Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Book: School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com

Larry Lawton was America’s biggest jewel thief, on the FBI’s most wanted list, and spent 11 years in dangerous federal prisons. Released from prison in 2007, he focused on decision making and bringing awareness to his “The Reality Check Program” which guides people away from the felonious life path and brings clarity to the likely consequences of crime: losing your freedom, reputation, self-respect, and connection to family. Read the full blog post for episode #140 at safetyphd.com. ABOUT LARRY LAWTON. Larry has one of the fastest growing channels on YouTube and appears on TV and radio as an expert on crime, drugs, youth issues, and law enforcement community policing. He’s also the first ex-convict to become an honorary police officer and the only ex-con recognized on the Floor of the United States Congress for his work with helping young people and law enforcement agencies connect with the community. GANGSTER REDEMPTION. The book Gangster Redemption tells the true life story of Larry’s journey from making bad decisions to shifting the meaning and focus of his life to saving young people from habitual crime and incarceration. SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. SA can be defined as “knowing what is going on around us” and comprehending the meaning of those events and how they might project in the near future. For example, recognizing dark clouds and thunder affords a person time to seek shelter before the storm. In other words, there are 3 levels of situational awareness: (1) perception, (2) comprehension, and (3) projection. Larry mastered each level. CASING A LOCATION. As a prolific jewel thief, Larry was an expert at situational awareness. Before robbing a store, he observed the location for weeks - learning its vulnerable points and nuances, such as the specific time of day the reflection of the sun off the windows would make it difficult for anyone outside to see what was happening inside of the store. He identified vital patterns that most people would simply overlook in the bustle of day-to-day life. AWARENESS IN PRISON. Situational awareness in prison is sharply amplified - it’s a non-stop survival asset as being able to detect slight changes in routines or behaviors might literally keep an inmate from perishing by attack or from psychological collapse. Already adept at monitoring his environment, Larry refined and adapted his observation skills to an unmatched level while inside the nation’s toughest prisons. CAN YOU WATCH TV OR USE THE INTERNET IN PRISON? Prisoners are able to watch some TV channels, but not allowed access to social networking websites. Postal mail is monitored. There isn’t the convenience of a quick Google query on a laptop and there’s a tendency over time to become very dependent upon the institution for information. Larry explains how being an inmate separated him from keeping pace with changes in society - as familiar brick cell phones evolved to flip phones -- and his surprise, when released, to discover Subway restaurants attached to gas stations! TEACH PEOPLE HOW TO DEBATE. Larry encourages people to learn to debate and that communication is a tool to advance discussion and peacefully resolve matters. This means attempting to learn the other person’s argument and trying to view the issue from that perspective. He notes that across society, people are hunkering down with their viewpoints and unwilling to be informed by new knowledge. Larry offers an example of how his own debate skills improved as he studied legal cases. THE VELOCITY OF INFORMATION. How were inmates informed about what was happening outside of prison? Larry describes how he learned about the September 11, 2001 terrorists attacks and strategies to ensure that he was receiving accurate information. MEMBER CHECKS IN PRISON. Member checks are people that tell you what you need to hear and not what you want to hear. There’s a constant churn in prison as inmates are directed to change cells every few weeks, moved to different units, and transferred to other penitentiaries. Larry describes how he vetted a member check network as a jewel thief, prisoner and now as a consultant. WHAT WAS THE MOST INACCURATE INFORMATION LARRY RECEIVED IN PRISON AND THE CONSEQUENCE. All personal protection systems fatigue. We make decisions without assessing risk or we trust the wrong person. Larry shares an experience when flawed information almost cost him his life. FOLLOW DR. PERRODIN: Twitter @SafetyPhD and subscribe to The Safety Doc YouTube channel & Apple Podcasts. SAFETY DOC WEBSITE & BLOG: www.safetyphd.com. The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David Perrodin, PhD. ENDORSEMENTS. Opinions are those of the host & guests. The show seeks to bring forward productive discourse on topics relevant to personal or community safety. This is episode 140 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 6-23-2020.

• Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Book: School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com

Violent storms slammed our intrepid host’s city and spun entire neighborhoods into chaos. Doc explains how simulated annealing guided him to the other side of chaos in record time as he had to inventory his options and progressively make correct decisions in response to a tree crashing into his house. Fumble this prescribed process, however, and Doc cautions that you’ll languish as others recover. Read the full blog post for episode #139 at safetyphd.com. THE STORM. At 8PM Tuesday, a severe storm rapidly descended upon Doc’s city. Although meteorologists cautioned of potential severe weather, the local news and emergency management didn’t activate the storm alerts and city sirens. This was the fastest onset storm Doc recalls and it also concluded in just 15 minutes. No hail, no heavy rains, just deafening winds. Seconds into the storm, Doc heard and felt a “thud” and immediately knew a tree had fallen on his house. He glanced out the front window and saw limbs thrashing against the siding and decided to shelter in the basement with his family. RISK ASSESSMENT [ALWAYS] AFTER A DISASTER. Within minutes, the storm subsided. Daylight enabled a cursory assessment of the situation. Doc’s next step harkened back to what he learned in firefighting training - always conduct an environmental risk assessment when entering a dangerous situation. Too many accounts of firefighters stepping off engines and onto downed power lines or utility workers being paralyzed by falling tree limbs as they hastily work to restore electricity to a neighborhood. It’s easy to take that first step as 99% of the time there won’t be a consequence. OUT OF THE BAGEL. The bagel is a metaphor Dr. Perrodin uses in his book School of Errors to describe how daily life has routines that periodically are disrupted or shattered. Doc assessed the point of impact between the tree and his house; then his entire property; and then his neighborhood. His house was damaged, but by luck, the windows weren’t smashed and water wasn’t leaking into the house. As the sun set, he went inside his house, retrieved a manilla folder and labeled it “June 2020 Storm Damage.” He then took a pad and scribed his recollection of the storm and his observations - carefully time stamping things. Next, he emailed his local insurance agent with a summary of the event, known damage, and photos. After that, he called the 24 hour claim number and filed a report. He was informed he had made the 8th report of damage in the area - and a day later when the adjuster arrived, she reported more than 150 claims had been in the area for that insurer. Act fast, get to the top of the queue, and you’ll be further ahead on the return to similarity than people who waited to make claims. RETURNING TO THE BAGEL. Within an hour of the storm, Doc texted his builder and asked if he could assess the damage to his property. At 8 AM the next day, one of the crew arrived with a truck, assessed the damage, and worked with Doc to remove the tree. Earlier that day, Doc took photos and videos of the damage and included a whiteboard with date and address in the images. He printed some of the images for the paper file and also for the adjuster. Doc then took the damaged window screens to the shop that morning and the insurance adjuster arrived in the afternoon. In less than 24 hours, Doc assessed and stabilized the damage and began the restoration process. MOST USEFUL ITEM AFTER THE STORM. Doc’s old, large-capacity steel wheelbarrow was in high demand to haul wood and debris. In fact, it was the only wheelbarrow he saw in the neighborhood. FRAYING FROM CYBERCHONDRIA. We are living in a time of concurrent crises: pandemic, civil unrest, and severe weather. Doc shares that his member check network is observing a  lot of people fraying due to information overload. This condition is exacerbated by what is known as cyberchondria (a type of confirmation bias) which manifests as constant online searching for information which fuels your underlying worry. For example, if you spend your entire night on Twitter refreshing #Seattle #CHAZ, you will experience increasing anxiety and begin to display functional impairment such as not being able to sleep. SUMMARY: (1) Shelter during severe weather; (2) conduct a risk assessment before you wander outside; (3) document in writing and photos and timestamp; and (4) quickly report and secure resources to remedy problems. FOLLOW DR. PERRODIN: Twitter @SafetyPhD and subscribe to The Safety Doc YouTube channel & Apple Podcasts. SAFETY DOC WEBSITE & BLOG: www.safetyphd.com. The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David Perrodin, PhD. ENDORSEMENTS. Opinions are those of the host & guests. The show seeks to bring forward productive discourse on topics relevant to personal or community safety. This is episode 139 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 6-11-2020.

• Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Book: School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com

Bacon and Doc kick off an unscheduled livestream to offer face validity on the rapid progression of rioting and civil unrest across America. Nick Schulaner and John Steele join to complete the cabinet. Regional observations from member checks across the country; dissecting the velocity of information; and what does this civil unrest chaos mean for our finite voltage? How close are people to the breaking point - and what happens if things further unravel? This marathon red eye raps up with predictions of how the events of the past week will transfer into changed or new things in the future. Read the full blog post for episode #138 at safetyphd.com. UNPRECEDENTED - TWO NATIONAL CHAOS EVENTS IN 90 DAYS. Doc explains that studies of civilian morale during times of war or similar sentinel events indicate that after 90 days, civilians begin to lose hope and this leads to a cascade of negative effects from depression to violence to suicide. This is known as finite voltage, as coined by military field psychiatrist Appel. It’s well-documented that during wartime, governments’ public propaganda units put a fresh spin on the situation every 3 months. That might be calling something a “new phase” or promoting some unifying event such as the scrap metals drives of WWII. Recently, city parades for medical staff and essential workers fell into this category of boosting civilian morale. FINITE VOLTAGE - MOTHER IN CALIFORNIA. Bacon shared a recent conversation with his strong-minded, resilient mother living in California, he detected psychological fray. In other words, she was becoming increasingly agitated with the virus lockdowns, requirements to wear face masks, and now the additional layer of restrictions due to civil unrest. This behavior is typical given the circumstances. He adds that Americans have had a relatively stable society for the past 60 years. Nick notes that people’s torus’, or what they are comfortable with from day-to-day, is very small (as described in the book School of Errors). HERD MENTALITY. Herd mentality, also called mob mentality, describes how humans adopt behaviors, buy merchandise, and follow trends based on their circle of influence. It explains how one’s point of view can be easily altered by those around them. This becomes dangerous when people simply follow others or the media narratives. Imagine walking outside and suddenly 500 people frantically run past you. The reaction by most will be to join them - as “they must be doing this for an important reason.” CONTAGION THEORY. Crowds easily become uncontrolled, wild, and frenzied. In this state, they can exert a hypnotic impact that results in unreasonable and emotionally charged behavior among the members. For example, with mob mentality, superstitions can evolve from a misconception or rumor between a small group of people and escalate quickly. John Steele notes that the police have demonstrated extreme restraint during protests that have become violent with rioting, looting, and rocks thrown at officers. Fights have erupted between protesters - an interesting twist on the binary nature of a protest. However, as protests devolve to riots and as more people become involved, the likelihood increases for a substantial deadly confrontation. David offers another contingency in stating that as protests continue, the targets might include power sub-stations, city water wells, fire departments, and hospitals. If that happens, martial law would be imminent and confrontations would include deadly force. RECOGNIZE CHAOS ASAP AND THEN PEG THE VELOCITY OF INFORMATION. Doc notes that following a sentinel event, such as 9/11, information is highly unreliable during the 72 hours following the event. There are two factors people need to be cognizant of, (1) recognize that they are in chaos and immediately begin making decisions based upon the evolving situations and contexts; and (2) obtain as much authentic information as possible from what you, and others, observe. DECISIONS WON’T BE PERFECT - BUT YOU MUST MAKE DECISIONS. Who is the perfect person in real time? Who has perfect, complete information - it must be sifted through. Be authentic - your decision is laminated to context and situation. You made the best decision at the time. WHAT WILL THINGS BE LIKE A YEAR FROM NOW (our predictions). Listen in as we balance between the negative and the positive - and address things you’re not thinking of right now. FOLLOW DR. PERRODIN: Twitter @SafetyPhD and subscribe to The Safety Doc YouTube channel & Apple Podcasts. SAFETY DOC WEBSITE & BLOG: www.safetyphd.com. The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David Perrodin, PhD. ENDORSEMENTS. Opinions are those of the host & guests. The show seeks to bring forward productive discourse on topics relevant to personal or community safety. This is episode 138 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 5-31-2020.

• Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Book: School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com

Juan Cabrera is a videographer of the homeless condition and has observed San Francisco transform itself into a deranged city due to malfunctioning local and state level policies. He is a Mexican immigrant who grew up in The City by the Bay. Read the full blog post for this episode (137) at safetyphd.com. HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE HOMELESS IN CALIFORNIA? At last official count 151,278 individuals are homeless in California, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. That's the highest number since at least 2007, and represents a nearly 17% uptick since 2018. Estimates place the homeless count in San Francisco between 8,000 and 17,000 people per various sources. As Juan notes, the definition of homeless includes people who are without a permanent residence and might be staying with relatives - although the media portrait of homeless is often that of individuals living on sidewalks or parks. The true numbers are higher than anything that’s reported. HOMELESS LAWS IN CA AND BAY AREA. In California, there are hundreds of “anti-homeless” laws. Although there is nothing that specifically bans or restricts homelessness, cities in the Golden State have created nearly a thousand codes and ordinances that experts and homeless advocates argue disproportionately affect unsheltered people. One such ordinance - known as the "sit-lie" law - makes it a criminal offense to sit, lie or sleep on a public sidewalk anywhere in a city. Some cities put boulders on sidewalks to prevent homeless people from sleeping or camping there, but these practices are ineffective at solving bigger problems and often just make things worse for homeless people. WHAT INSPIRED JUAN TO BECOME A VIDEOGRAPHER OF THE HOMELESS CONDITION? Six years ago, Juan and his brother began an annual tradition to purchase and distribute socks to homeless people on Christmas. It was through this act of kindness, meeting and observing homeless people, that Juan found himself wanting to learn more about homelessness in his city. JUAN’S OBSERVATIONS OF HOMELESSNESS IN SAN FRAN. As a father, Juan perceives that exposure to the raw elements of San Francisco are impacting his children. “They are becoming conditioned to it.” Traveling through parts of the city, such as “The Tenderloin,” brings risks of mentally ill homeless people darting into traffic, defecating in public, or littering the city with needles. Public transportation is no longer safe due to fights on busses and drug paraphernalia tucked between seats. WHAT IS MAKING THE SITUATION WORSE. Juan shared that policies are exacerbating the homeless condition. Policies that include police told to not prosecute most property crimes under $1000; pervasive bartering of EBT cards for cash; public-financed alcohol and drugs for homeless people to allegedly support them during the COVID19 lockdowns; and no fines for public urination, defecation or lude acts. Per Juan, none of these steps are improving the quality of life for people that are homeless - or anyone else in the city. HOW THIS IMPACTS JUAN. The homeless issues are amplifying. The city provides many resources to homeless people, the climate is favorable, and Juan has observed a type of inertia in the homeless community - meaning that once people claim a patch of the city, they are unlikely to trade it for a stay in a shelter as doing so would force them to surrender their possessions and have to eventually find another place to stay after they left the shelter. The despair of the situation weighs upon Juan and he contemplates moving his family away from the urban decay. Juan also explained his approach to vehicle insurance was simple: liability only. Due to increasing vandalism and vehicle break-ins (which aren’t investigated or prosecuted), Juan budgets for 2-3 replacement side windows per year. WHAT COULD BE DONE TO MAKE THINGS BETTER? It’s clear that actions to help remedy this situation will be highly-charged in the political arena. Juan argues that enforcing laws, such as consequences for breaking into vehicles, and stopping public-funded distribution of alcohol and drugs must occur to slow this spiraling situation. He’s also aware that if nothing is done, homelessness will swell and businesses will close due to lack of viable store fronts; diseases such as typhus will take root; and fewer people will invest in large sections of the city - essentially leaving those areas to rot. FOLLOW DR. PERRODIN: Twitter @SafetyPhD and subscribe to The Safety Doc YouTube channel & Apple Podcasts. SAFETY DOC WEBSITE & BLOG: www.safetyphd.com. The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David Perrodin, PhD. ENDORSEMENTS. Opinions are those of the host & guests. The show seeks to bring forward productive discourse & debate on topics relevant to personal or community safety. This is episode 137 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 5-28-2020.

• Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Book: School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com

Memory is changing. Research shows that as we use the Internet to support and extend our memory we become more reliant on it. Whereas before we might have tried to recall something on our own, now we don't bother. As more information becomes available via smartphones and other devices, we become progressively more reliant on it in our daily lives." Full blog post at safetyphd.com WHAT IS COGNITIVE OFFLOADING? Rather than attempt to mentally store and manipulate all the relevant details about a situation within the brains of individuals (also known as actors), we physically store and manipulate those details out in the world, in the very situation itself. All of us do this - some of us are more effective at it. Cognitive offloading is anything you do to reduce the cognitive demands of a task: basically, to make it take up less mental space. WHAT INFORMATION ARE WE EXPECTED TO MEMORIZE? In practice - cognitive offloading replaces memorizing maps, state capitals, names of former presidents -- instead, you know where this information is stored and; (A) how to query it; (b) how to access it; and (c) how to apply it. EXAMPLES OF COGNITIVE OFFLOADING. Here are examples of how humans cognitively offload information into the environment (instead of committing it to memory):  (1) checklist for winterizing your lawn mower; (2) flipchart for what to do during a crisis; and (3) AED with voice output directions and various colored light cues to step you through how to use it to save a life. INTERNET HAS MADE OUR BRAINS LAZY. Per researcher Dr. Benjamin Storm, 30% of participants who previously consulted the Internet failed to even attempt to answer a single simple question from memory. We look external for answers instead of attempting to figure out things on our own. By discarding face validity (our own observations), we commit to trusting that search results will bring us the most vetted information. WHY IT’S DIFFICULT TO STUDY COGNITIVE OFFLOADING. Despite much research, the mechanisms that trigger cognitive offloading are not well understood at present -- such as why people offload some things and not others and how people optimise cognitive-offloading strategies without those strategies needing to be explicitly instructed. Researchers find it difficult to study the act of people creating reminders for delayed intentions without explicitly telling them about the existence of a compensatory strategy. People tend to do offload more in a condition they perceived as more difficult, not necessarily the condition that was objectively more difficult. WHAT COGNITIVE OFFLOADING LOOKS LIKE IN SCHOOL SAFETY. Cognitive Offloading manifests as crisis flipcharts hung by classroom doors or converted to electronic files accessible on desktop computers and mobile devices.  It also takes the shape of the “step you through a crisis” phone apps that are inherent to most school safety protocols. FLAWS WITH COGNITIVE OFFLOADING IN SCHOOL SAFETY. Crises have befallen schools with elaborate school safety plans. These tools fatigue if not exercised by the actors - or the students, staff and families. You can’t just expect to retrieve critical safety information from the environment during a high-stakes crisis situation. You need some level of practice, of familiarity. If we could just retrieve information and immediately make sense of it per our stressed situation and context, each of us could successfully land an airplane. FOUR WAYS TO BE BETTER AT COGNITIVE OFFLOADING. (1) Probability of having to deal with a situation - if it’s infrequent, opt for cognitive offloading. Aso, use visuals, handwritten notes. Writing notes by hand generally improves your understanding of the material and helps you remember it better, since writing it down involves deeper cognitive-processing of the material than typing it. (2) Don’t offload things you need to memorize such as the rules of the road for driving. (3) Practice how to search for information from reliable sources such as JURN.org or by talking with your face validity member check network. You’ll excel at harvesting valid, trusted information and others will see this admirable characteristic in you. (4) Practice metacognition, or awareness of how you think, to avoid the Dunning-Kruger effect of cognitive bias in which people with low ability at a task overestimate their ability. These are the, “I’m smart enough to know how to do this…” FOLLOW DR. PERRODIN: Twitter @SafetyPhD and subscribe to The Safety Doc YouTube channel & Apple Podcasts. SAFETY DOC WEBSITE & BLOG: www.safetyphd.com. The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David Perrodin, PhD. ENDORSEMENTS. Opinions are those of the host & guests. The show seeks to bring forward productive discourse & debate on topics relevant to personal or institutional safety. This is episode 136 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 5-18-2020.

• Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Book: School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com

Guest Bacon Maldito talks about new terms since the COVID19 pandemic, shaking Contact Tracers, closing city streets for green space, permanent protocol changes for a temporary event, & deals at Dissmore's IGA. PANDEMIC LINGO - 15 NEW TERMS SINCE MARCH. In a mere sixty days, Americans have expanded their vocabularies with at least 15 new pandemic-driven terms / directives, including: (1) Practice Social Distancing; (2) Shelter in Place; (3) 6 Feet Apart; (4) Essential Travel Only; (5) Safer at Home; (6) Sanitize Every Hour; (7) Wear N95 Mask; (8) Use Gloves; (9) Wash Hands Every Hour; (10) Flatten the Curve; (11) Self-quarantine; (12) High-touch areas; (13) Essential business; (14) Essential Worker; and (15) Social Distancing. As Bacon and Doc carve through at least three of these terms, the matters of ambiguity and inter-rater reliability surface. What is an essential business? Is this static, or does it change throughout a prolonged crisis, such as a pandemic? Oh yeah, Bacon brings out the festivus pole for his extended “airing of grievances” periodically interrupted with plugs for restaurants, stores and products not otherwise endorsed by The Safety Doc Podcast. WEARING MASKS - THERE IS A RISK. The purpose of wearing a mask during a pandemic is recognized by Bacon and Doc. A mask will limit aerosol particles from entering a person’s nose or mouth and will also dampen aerosols expelled by the person through breathing, talking or sneezing. Yet, with a range of masks now being marketed to the public and a wider range of homemade masks, the media narrative is silent about masks contributing to excess CO2 inhalation which is known to present health risks and diminish cognitive abilities. In fact, the National Institutes of Health studied CO2 and O2 concentrations in integral motorcycle helmets. In the September, 2005, edition of Applied Ergonomics, one such study (and yes, there are several studies of closed-face helmets and masks relative to CO2 concentrations) found that motorcycle riders wearing full-face helmets could increase their CO2 intake by 4% or more - and this could contribute negatively to a motorcyclist’s cognitive abilities. As the media taps “experts” on how to make masks out of socks and coffee filters, a very real issue is not addressed - and that is how to create a mask that doesn’t result in a person inhaling some of the CO2 that they just exhaled? WHEN THE CONTACT TRACER COMES A KNOCKIN. H.R. 6666, the TRACE Act, was introduced on May 1st by US Rep. Bobby Rush. The bill would approve billions of dollars for contact tracing - both in technology and in staffing people that would work as contact tracers. After someone tests positive for COVID19 (or a future virus), a contact tracer would work to identify where the person has been and who he or she has come into contact with. Nearly 1,400 people are being trained to help with COVID19 contact tracing in Washington State. While participation in contact tracing in Washington State is voluntary, other states have sabre rattled consequences for persons refusing to cooperate if a contract tracer knocks at the door. Bacon, Doc and a lively chat room unpack the Pandora’s Box of information obtained by a contact tracer - and potential misuse of harvested data. DISSMORE’S IGA. Doc gives a nod to 2-time Safety Doc Podcast guest Nick Schulaner by displaying four outrageous grocery values from Dissmore’s IGA - located near Nick’s place in Washington State. BOOK IN CAN. And, friend of the show John Steele noted that canned goods can be feasibly mailed by the postal service if you claim it’s a “Book in a Can” - thus invoking the $3.33 flat media rate. FOLLOW DR. PERRODIN: Twitter @SafetyPhD and subscribe to The Safety Doc YouTube channel & Apple Podcasts. SAFETY DOC WEBSITE & BLOG: www.safetyphd.com. The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David Perrodin, PhD. ENDORSEMENTS. Opinions are those of the host & guests. The show adheres to nondiscrimination principles while seeking to bring forward productive discourse & debate on topics relevant to personal or institutional safety. This is episode 135 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 5-14-2020.

• Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Book: School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com

Before 1961, the United States did not publicly educate any children with any disabilities. If a child had cognitive or emotional disabilities, deafness, blindness or needed speech therapy, parents had to educate their children at home or pay for private education. In 1975, the US voted to ensure that all children, regardless of their differences, should have access to free public school education. This was the start of “special education” in America’s schools. INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT (IDEA). Approximately 7 million students with disabilities ages 3-21 are served under IDEA. Students with disabilities comprise 14% of all public school students. IDEA requires schools to provide appropriate education to all students in the least restrictive environment (LRE) possible. This means, for example, it is illegal to separate children in wheelchairs from children who do not require such assistance. WHAT IS SPECIAL EDUCATION? Special education is specially designed instruction that addresses the unique needs of a student eligible to receive special education services. Services are provided in accordance with a school-developed Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Examples of special education services include speech-language, learning disabilities instruction, and audiology. In addition, accommodations like additional time for assignments or audio books; or services - such as an adult aide or picture schedule, might be provided to the student. SOME SCHOOLS ENDED THE YEAR EARLY - DEEMED REMOTE LEARNING TOO TOUGH. Georgia, Texas, and other states waived the minimum instruction time requirements during the pandemic. As states opened the gates to the earliest summer vacation in a century, they concurrently closed the book on IDEA-mandated special education services and braced for unrelenting litigation from parents of students with disabilities. BETSY DEVOS STANCE ON IDEA. In April, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos denied requests to give school districts the option to bypass major parts of IDEA. Devos’ decision leaves questions about compliance and whether school districts will become vulnerable to legal action if they fail to fully serve students with disabilities, now that nearly every state has ordered or recommended that school buildings remain closed for the rest of the academic year. Students with disabilities have lost access to specific types of support they received in school — whether that was a therapy that required an adult to physically touch a student or a one-on-one aide to help a student with math assignments. BARRIERS TO SUSTAINING SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES - TOO MUCH TO OVERCOME? (1) Cost: An unresolved matter surrounding special education has always been the cost. It is more costly to educate children with disabilities because they require more time and resources than students without disabilities and school funding is falling off a cliff. Schools will be forced to negotiate extreme austerity measures and consolidate services. (2) Staffing: Special education staff shortages are felt by all school districts. As schools make reductions, special education teachers, who often serve smaller caseloads than regular education teachers, will equally share the pain of attrition of reduction in force. (3) Inclusion. From a philosophical angle, the pandemic advances the narrative of including students with disabilities with non-disabled peers. (4) Social Distancing. Students with disabilities who are unable to wear masks or adhere to social distancing, including students with intellectual disabilities, early childhood students, or students with autism, will present significant challenges to schools. With touchy seclusion and restraint laws on the books, teachers won’t force students to wear masks against their will - even if the student doesn’t possess the cognitive functioning to understand the benefit of the mask. Students without masks will fatigue virus-mitigation protocols and could open up litigation by school staff, parents and even other students claiming that their health is placed at risk. CANADIAN SCHOOL’S DYSTOPIAN BACK TO SCHOOL VIDEO. Doc plays a “Welcome to your new school routine and rules during virus times” video a Canadian school shared with families this week. Kids must stay 6 feet apart, playground closed, gym closed, yikes! He notes that many US schools are prepping similar misguided, impractical protocols. FOLLOW DR. PERRODIN: Twitter @SafetyPhD and subscribe to The Safety Doc YouTube channel & Apple Podcasts. SAFETY DOC WEBSITE & BLOG: www.safetyphd.com. The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David P. Perrodin, PhD. ENDORSEMENTS. Opinions are those of the host & guests. The show seeks to bring forward productive discourse & debate on topics relevant to personal or institutional safety. This is episode 134 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 5-10-2020.

• Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Book: School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com

Chuck Mak delivers face validity from Pittsburgh, describing the rapid scale up of University of Pittsburgh Medical’s campus for influx of coronavirus patients; the biggest IT challenges; essential worker papers; COVID19 GIS hotspots tracked by phone; economic smash landing; and locus of control. This is episode 133 of The Safety Doc Podcast and was published on May 5, 2020. SCALING UP ONE OF THE NATION'S TOP MEDICAL FACILITIES. University of Pittsburgh Medicals’ Chuck Mak describes the rapid closure of the university campus agency to the hospital and contingency plans to utilize dorms to house essential medical workers. He notes the silence and complete evacuation of an area that otherwise resembled a bustling city. BIGGEST IT CHALLENGE FOR HOSPITAL. The network, it seems, had ample capacity to expand and to embrace more people using it. The barriers, Chuck notes, are access to mobile devices such as iPads and Chromebooks that would be necessary for telemedicine. Within weeks, the use of telemedicine increased approximately ten-fold. While this might constrict after the coronavirus event, Chuck anticipates that telemedicine will follow an overall growth trend and that the information network and technology has proven it can support such a model. ESSENTIAL WORKER PAPERS & GIS PHONE MAPS FOR PANDEMIC HOT SPOTS. As an IT employee, Chuck was immediately deemed “essential” by his employer. He was provided with a document to carry with him whenever he drove to or from work - a document that he would provide to police if he was stopped. Additionally, he was accessing real-time global information system (GIS) maps on his phone that revealed areas of his county that were reporting the highest numbers of COVID19-positive persons. Chuck noted that the map was both intriguing and puzzling, as the purpose of the large blue circles (dense positive areas) didn’t translate into him altering his route or daily activities. REAL BUT NOT TRUE - FACE VALIDITY. From mid-March to present, Chuck has served as a member check for Doc - reporting what he authentically was observing in Pittsburgh. Face validity from someone “on the ground” confirmed what was real, but also not true. For example, Chuck reported that the hospital was rapidly expanding its mobile IT capacity and preparing to use more locations both on campus and off campus in anticipation for an influx of pandemic patients. The expansion of IT capacity was real. However, the influx of patients didn’t manifest. This isn’t to purport some type of conspiracy, but rather to delineate the difference between real and true. LOCUS OF CONTROL. As a small business owner with an online platform, Chuck noted that the demand for his sports memorabilia items had evaporated as the economy slammed into a wall the past month. He opted to idle his storefront and focus on the things that he could control - such as his work at the hospital, accepting in-person rotations on campus, and securing essential items such as food. FOLLOW DR. PERRODIN: Twitter @SafetyPhD and subscribe to The Safety Doc YouTube channel & Apple Podcasts. SAFETY DOC WEBSITE & BLOG: www.safetyphd.com. The Safety Doc Podcast is hosted & produced by David Perrodin, PhD. ENDORSEMENTS. Opinions are those of the host & guests. The show adheres to nondiscrimination principles while seeking to bring forward productive discourse & debate on topics relevant to personal or institutional safety. This is episode 133 of The Safety Doc Podcast published on 5-5-2020.

• Purchase Dr. Perrodin’s Book: School of Errors – Rethinking School Safety in America. www.schooloferrors.com