Learning Curves

[UrbanHunter]

Learning curve, according to Wikipedia:​

A learning curve is a graphical representation of the relationship between how proficient people are at a task and the amount of experience they have. Proficiency usually increases with increased experience, that is to say, the more someone, groups, companies or industries perform a task, the better their performance at the task.

Prepping requires learning lots of new skills that require experience and practice. To be a successful prepper you must survive long enough to develop your learning curve on the majority of the necessary skills to maintain your desired life style. Things can either buy you time, accelerate your learning curve, or be used to convert your raw resources into usable supplies.

Regardless of how you plan to provide yourself with food, water, shelter, warmth, and clothing; you are going to need time to develop and refine your methods.

Valuable Things in a post SHTF world
Water - you will not last long without water
Food storage - you will need to eat while you are learning (note it is not a solution in itself)
Information - books
Shelter - Have to stay dry
Energy - be it heat, light, what ever: you will need a sustainable fuel supply and a way to get something useful out of it.
Tools - Hand tools and fasteners
Seeds - for growing food
Animals - for food stuffs

This was just my introduction, the questions to the Forum (You) Are:
What are the most valuable THINGS that we should be getting now with the limited resources that we have?
What should be the balance of the THINGS that we have?
What are the THINGS that we need to be doing now to reduce our survival learning curve?
What are we missing or overlooking?

When posting please think about what you think we need and why do we need it? For example: If you have a book that you are constantly using as a resource please share the title and what it is that makes it such a good resource.

 

[elkhound]

#1 reading glasses in various strengths

why? you cant read instructions,maps,recipes,thread a needle,tie a fishing hook on,pull splinters out and more.

i can see far off very well and up till arms length...close in i need reading glasses for detail and reading..its just the age thing 99% eventually get.

 

[Canon29]

Experience. The time to gain experience is now while there is a safety net and free easily accessible information aswell as help from others. The time to master skills is now- and yeah skill > gear.

You cannot buy preparedness, you CAN buy force multipliers- but their effectiveness is going to be dependent on you.

 

[Morgan101]

#1 reading glasses in various strengths

I have about two dozen pairs. My wife and I have both used them for thirty years, and we only pitch them when they break. Not only will your eyes weaken to the point you need a stronger pair, they are a great barter item. Everybodys' eyes are going to degenerate over time. IMHO should there be a real SHTF event things like glasses will probably no longer be produced ergo, there will be a finite supply.

What may we be overlooking? Know your physical capabilities and limitations. I will only speak for myself, but my ability to do hard physical work has diminished greatly over the years, and I do not expect it to improve. I try to find things that will require less work, not more.

 

[Sourdough]

There is simply too much to learn, or you die. The bottom line is if you "ain't" living a post SHTF lifestyle now. you're going to die. It is the transition that will kill you.

If you spent every other year, from now forward living a post SHTF lifestyle you might have a 50/50 chance of surviving the "transition". Might.

Standard issue preppers will have a very slight "fleeting" advantage over the clueless non-preppers. Very-very slight advantage.

The ugly truth is it is already too late. The best would be to train your children from birth to live a post SHTF lifestyle.

Your, not going to survive the "transition" faze into a cruel new reality. Prepping has been corrupted for near 50 years.

Now.......think about this.....really take a few minutes of quiet to think or notice that in the last three & half years over "TEN MILLION" pre-trained, and highly skilled at living a SHTF lifestyle were imported to "YOUR" reality. Now add that to an estimated seventeen million, Americans that are pretrained. Funny had that comes up to 10% of the humans in America. Easy to see a 90% die-off post SHTF.

We live a totally artificial reality. This is especially true of "so called" western countries. I have been studying & living this subject (prepping for survival) for seventy plus years. I have progressively over that time period been "PUSH" away from delusional & optimistic expectation of survival a serious SHTF on a nationwide or worldwide scale.

What survives if there is no civilization, no delusional supply systems........The answer is: The Uncivilized will Survive.

 

[Weedygarden]

#1 reading glasses in various strengths

why? you cant read instructions,maps,recipes,thread a needle,tie a fishing hook on,pull splinters out and more.

i can see far off very well and up till arms length...close in i need reading glasses for detail and reading..its just the age thing 99% eventually get.

I have a couple magnifying glasses. I am sure the day is coming when I should have some reading glasses.

 

[Biggkidd]

Personally I think once one had power figured out then their next items should be consumables. Doesn't matter the type as we need a wide range from fuels to oils to bullets to nails screws things you will need to make and or repair things. Drill bits and saw blades are high on my lists along with keeping a stockpile of welding wire IIRC I keep at least ten ten lb. rolls on hand. Needles and thread spare sifters and food prep items. The list is just crazy long

 

[montanabill]

The main thing to be aware of and practice ahead of time is how to deal with other people.
Watch some of the body cam videos of people being stopped for simple traffic stops and then totally going beserk and hitting and biting the officers.
Now try to imagine those crazy folks with firearms.....It is one thing to have water, shelter. food, defense and the access and ability to resuply but to be able to do that while other people are trying to take all you have will be the real problem.

 

[OldSchool]

Great thread for this leaner who's on the curve part so heavy that it's like climbing a hill.

 

[LadyLocust]

I have about two dozen pairs. My wife and I have both used them for thirty years, and we only pitch them when they break. Not only will your eyes weaken to the point you need a stronger pair, they are a great barter item. Everybodys' eyes are going to degenerate over time. IMHO should there be a real SHTF event things like glasses will probably no longer be produced ergo, there will be a finite supply.

What may we be overlooking? Know your physical capabilities and limitations. I will only speak for myself, but my ability to do hard physical work has diminished greatly over the years, and I do not expect it to improve. I try to find things that will require less work, not more.

I think you might have shared a Christmas tree pix on here one time, but if there was one pix request I'd have for you, it would be an over head of the basement I envision it like a grocery store layout - glasses isle 8 bay 3

 

[Frodo]

I need to acquire a complete set of funk & wagnalls. The OG of computers

 

[Morgan101]

I think you might have shared a Christmas tree pix on here one time, but if there was one pix request I'd have for you, it would be an over head of the basement I envision it like a grocery store layout - glasses isle 8 bay 3

A grocery store with aisles would be very generous. The analogy I use is a goat's stomach. God knows what's in there. I will see what I can come up with.

Frodo, we had a set of Funk & Wagnalls when I was growing up. Not sure what happened to them since my parents passed away. My sister might still have them.

 

[Pearl]

I think you might have shared a Christmas tree pix on here one time, but if there was one pix request I'd have for you, it would be an over head of the basement I envision it like a grocery store layout - glasses isle 8 bay 3

You HAD to bring up, THE BASEMENT

 

[Neb]

You HAD to bring up, THE BASEMENT

Witch basement he asks.

Ben

 

[Amish Heart]

Yeah, let's not talk about basements.

 

[Pearl]

Witch basement he asks.

Ben

Morgan's

 

[Pearl]

Morgan's

Or maybe Amish Heart's!!

 

[Bacpacker]

Good lord, don't nobody look in mine. You'd get lost

 

[Weedygarden]

Witch basement he asks.

Ben

I remember the basement redo you and your brother did! You have to be glad that is finished!

 

[Frodo]

When we lived in Montrose co
It was the first basement my wife had seen She refused to go down there

 

[Frodo]

Eewwwwwww
My abu Garcia spinning reel should showing up on the porch in about 2 hours
Feel like a kid on chhristmas
Who got let out of the basement


See. Not off topic. Lol

 

[sonya123]

The ugly truth is it is already too late. The best would be to train your children from birth to live a post SHTF lifestyle.

I have a comment on that one. I have 2 kids, the son lives with us at the moment and is ready for the post SHTF lifestyle and like us thinks it will happen ( SHTF). The daughter in the Navy is the ultimate optimist and is not at all prepared at all. She tells me every excuse in the world why she can't at least stock up on some food and water. She also tells me none of "my" SHTF scenarios has happened and we have been waiting for it for 20 some years....
But she is living in target # 2, so chances are her family will not survive anyway. I am glad when at least they get out of the military

Ultimately I think she does have one point: when it is your time to go , it just is. I have known many people that died unexpectedly at young ages and I bet they could not have done anything to prevent it
It's like the people that tell me how "safe" it is to fly or drive over old bridges. BUT, old bridges do fall down and planes do crash.

 

[goshengirl]

What witch? And why does she have a basement?

 

[Tirediron]

I don't really see what the panic is, We lived without grid power here in this part of the world quite well 50 years ago, you don't need all of the frills. you need skills, and if possible records of what works, what doesn't.

 

[goshengirl]

I agree with you, @Sourdough. I know I'm not going to survive a true SHTF event, no matter how much I may focus on preparedness. My health and fitness levels will not cut it, regardless of my level of preparedness.

The more I (try to) prepare, the more I realize I don't know, the more I realize I don't have the skills and/or knowledge.
Sadly, my family thinks they'll all be fine because Mom has this cute little hobby. They don't want to prep, and consequently have never crossed that threshold of awareness regarding how little they know. They think we'll be fine...

But I take stabs at preparedness anyway, because even if it's a little bit, it might help in a less-than-SHTF event. And in the case of a big SHTF event... well, hope springs eternal, I guess.

 

[goshengirl]

I don't really see what the panic is, We lived without grid power here in this part of the world quite well 50 years ago, you don't need all of the frills. you need skills, and if possible records of what works, what doesn't.

I get lulled into a false sense of security with stuff. Learning skills is much more involved, and I don't carve out enough time for that. I need to make that a priority.

I feel like the first learning curve I need to work on is water. I have filters, etc. - but what if we had to go somewhere where we didn't have any of those things? Do I know enough about potable water, how to secure it? Beyond the knowledge of it, I need to practice it, build the skill.

 

[sonya123]

What witch? And why does she have a basement?

that must be me LOLOLOL

 

[Frodo]

Power has not been around forever
We people lived without it and can live with out it again. We have gotten soft
Expect every thing to be easy
Honey, life aint easy nature is hard and only the strong survive

I firmly believe that we as humans would be stronger and smarter if the weak. And stupid were culled out by nature

 

[Tirediron]

the trouble that I see is that the dunning kruger syndrome will thin out a lot of the book learned experts pretty quick. most people get a basic idea, fall for it and think, that it is the solution, where as in practice things change and evolve. "But this is the way we have always done" it isn't going to help if you are starving or dead. or my very favorite, "I'll just get a horse"

 

[Frodo]

the trouble that I see is that the dunning kruger syndrome will thin out a lot of the book learned experts pretty quick. most people get a basic idea, fall for it and think, that it is the solution, where as in practice things change and evolve. "But this is the way we have always done" it isn't going to help if you are starving or dead. or my very favorite, "I'll just get a horse"

That's a new word for me
I had to visit Goo goo land to get educated
specific overconfidence of people unskilled at a particular task.

Aka
Knows just enough to be dangerous