I seem to have a fair ability to read people, what their motivations may be, at least, some of the time. When I am not manic, that is, or depressed, for that matter, as both mood sttaes impair the clairty of my judgement.

I do, howver, tend to believe that most people, while problem children overall, are for the most part inherntly decent. Of course, there are sociopaths and so on, but, outside of folks with serious personality issues like psychopathy, I am very inherently trusting. And that has gotten me into a lot o ftrouble, because there are a lot of scammers and manipulators out there. This has manifested most commonly in my love life, where I have sometimes mistaken external sweetness for genuine heart when, in fact, the person may have turned out to be a bit of a sucmbag.

That said, you must decide in life how you are going to approach people you do not know and I have elected to trust. I do not like the cynical, untrusting side of me. I am raising a daughter on the principle of trust but verify. She can handle it.