pick up any signs of trouble

[GoodTaste]

Does "pick up any signs of trouble" mean "be alarmed by any signs of trouble" (because "alarm" means "to warn of danger"? Or does "pick up" mean "find/discover" (but dictionaries don't list such a definition)?

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I was a regular attendee at departmental seminars, and that’s where I met my future adviser. After she presented a seminar, I approached her and we set up a time to chat. We had a productive discussion about her research. Later, I went to dinner with her lab group.


I didn’t pick up any signs of trouble, although one person who worked in a lab that shared space with hers did tell me about coming across one of her lab members crying in the breakroom. Naïvely, I ignored that warning sign. Within a few weeks, the faculty member offered me a position in her lab as a master’s student. The opportunity seemed too good to pass up. I hoped it would work out.


Source: Science By Akshata Naik Aug. 20, 2020
https://www.sciencemag.org/careers/...viser-made-life-miserable-choose-yours-wisely

 

[jutfrank]

She means she didn't see or hear anything that made her suspect there might be a cause for concern.

A good synonym for pick up in this sense is 'detect'. You might imagine a scientific instrument (such as a geiger counter picking up radioactivity), as a useful analogue.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

It means notice, sense, perceive: I didn't notice any signs of trouble.