An incident which occurred in London when I was there last month caused me to doubt my alertness and ability to think clearly. My husband and I were browsing through the menu outside an Asian food restaurant near Paddington station. A dark skinned man chatted with us. He said he could introduce us to a small Chinese restaurant not far away. He said he was paid a small amount for bringing customers to the restaurant run by Chinese. After missing Chinese food we agreed to follow him. Along the way he chatted about his migration from Croatia and how he adjusted to living in London etc etc. He made us feel very comfortable.
Now Paddington is a very busy place and we weren't afraid. He brought us behind a row of shops. It seemed a bit strange to me but I could see another row of either shops or houses further down the back lane. He assured us we were nearing. When we went a bit further, 2 other dark skinned men jumped out and shouted "Police!" flashing their 'identification cards'. At that moment I knew something was amiss and told my husband "Run, it's a scam". We scurried away towards the main road and only stopped to catch our breath when we were on the busy road. I really freaked out thinking we would be robbed at knife point and was really surprised they didn't give chase. From the internet I found out there is a gang operating in Paddington who disguised as police to search tourists' bags and probably stole their belongings.
I told my husband we were very lucky because we could easily have been hurt. I kept thinking to myself how we could fall into a trap so easily. Maybe we are so used to living in a safe city that we can't sense danger, albeit in a busy place overseas. Reflecting on the incident I am really surprised we actually followed him into a back lane!. I always pride myself in being alert to financial scams and ability to evaluate financial proposals etc. So I am a bit worried over my ability to sense risk. Lo and behold what I found in the internet was a research by a Cornell University scientist which showed that older people "have more atrophy (degeneration) and less connectivity in 2 key areas of the brain. One region signals a person when something significant is happening around them, and the other tells them how to read social cues, such as other people's intentions". So apparently the atrophy impairs the brain's ability to signal a risky situation and to infer thoughts and intentions of others.
I think this incident is a good wake up call and will be a good reminder when we travel overseas. A good point to remember is to ignore people who approach to help you without being asked.
"Inside every older person is a younger person-wondering what the hell happened."- Jennifer Yane
