Armaggedon - a simple affair

[Kawaii]

Actually, if the earths magnetic field collapses (as it would prior to reversing which many scientists believe is in the works) I'm pretty sure that would destroy all technology (as well as all life) at or near the surface. I can think of several scenarios where it could happen.

Care to explain why the absence of a magnetic field would annihilate me? I don't quite grasp that concept.

 

[Mirlyn]

Care to explain why the absence of a magnetic field would annihilate me? I don't quite grasp that concept.

As I understand it, a collapse of the magnetic field would take your only shielding from the high-energy solar winds. They'd do a good number on anything electrical-based on the surface. Cars, radios, power plants, etc. Trouble is, we're electrical as well. Neural impluses and whatnot.

 

[Camelyn]

From what I have read, the earth's magnetic field has been reversing itself quite regularly since the creation of the planet. Life has survived these shifts, and will survive the next one. While a disappearance of the earth's magnetic field would indeed expose us to harmful solar radiation, there is no evidence that past flips have caused such exposure. Nor is there any evidence that indicates that these reversals and any field collapse associated with them have had any detrimental effect on humans or animals biological systems, as there is no evidence of any correlation between mass extinctions and magnetic field reversals in the geological record.

Additionally, these flips do not happen over night, they can take hundreds or even thousands of years to happen, geologically a blink of an eye, but a long time for us carbon based life forms, which allows time for adaptation. And there is evidence that there is enough of a residual magnetic field, even during collapse to provide protection from the solar winds as well as to accommodate animals that navigate by magnetic field lines.

 

[Sharky]

Edit: Post deleted by Sharky. Misunderstood the question.

 

[Gato_Solo]

I think you're selling quite a few people short. I wholeheartedly believe that I, personally, could survive with nothing but a crude knife and some clothing that's from the climate I'm in. I would lose some weight, to be sure, but the basics are out there. You just have to know where to look. Bread and wheat, while nice, are not needed. Most plants I eat would grow practically anywhere as well. I've even been known to dig up cat-tail roots in a pinch. Meat, while nice to have, can be replaced by fish. You don't even need pots and pans if you can find a flat rock to place over your heat source (fire). It's not as hard as you think. You just got used to the idea of your 'stuff' being what you need, instead of what you want.

 

[BeardofPants]

As long as pants can be considered a "need", I think I'll survive.

 

[MrBishop]

I think you're selling quite a few people short. I wholeheartedly believe that I, personally, could survive with nothing but a crude knife and some clothing that's from the climate I'm in. I would lose some weight, to be sure, but the basics are out there. You just have to know where to look. Bread and wheat, while nice, are not needed. Most plants I eat would grow practically anywhere as well. I've even been known to dig up cat-tail roots in a pinch. Meat, while nice to have, can be replaced by fish. You don't even need pots and pans if you can find a flat rock to place over your heat source (fire). It's not as hard as you think. You just got used to the idea of your 'stuff' being what you need, instead of what you want.

ditto that...

With what OZ said about the military preparedness (which I know a great deal about)...I can see the military bases being the centers of 'recovery'. I can also see them as places to avoid if you are not already on the base. I can see them being sealed up rather tightly and suddenly VERY protective of what they've got...add guns, RPGs and all those loverly toys...a "shoot first, ask questions later" attitude would go a long way towards THEIR survival, but not ours

 

[Mirlyn]

I think you're selling quite a few people short. I wholeheartedly believe that I, personally, could survive with nothing but a crude knife and some clothing that's from the climate I'm in. I would lose some weight, to be sure, but the basics are out there. You just have to know where to look. Bread and wheat, while nice, are not needed. Most plants I eat would grow practically anywhere as well. I've even been known to dig up cat-tail roots in a pinch. Meat, while nice to have, can be replaced by fish. You don't even need pots and pans if you can find a flat rock to place over your heat source (fire). It's not as hard as you think. You just got used to the idea of your 'stuff' being what you need, instead of what you want.

You can cook on the fire just as well. Just brush the ashes off. Done this with steaks before and it came out extremely well. Fish might dry out though.

 

[tonksy]

You can cook on the fire just as well. Just brush the ashes off. Done this with steaks before and it came out extremely well. Fish might dry out though.

well...this requires a little bit of modern convenience...but you can cook meat or fish inside of a tin can in the coals of the fire...you can use the same can over and over...but for anyone who is actually amassing supplies for armaggedon, may i recommend a small cast iron skillet.

 

[MrBishop]

It all boils down to who is paranoid enough. If you're a survivalist and hog canned foods and dry foods downstairs, with a good supply of candles and matches, and water etc...AND you're quick enough to recognize what's about to happen...you've got a better than average chance of seeing the other end of it. If you're stuck in a city and wait too long...you're going to be stuck in that city. Once the rioting starts and the mass exodus happens..you're effectivly trapped there. The same goes for the immediate suburbs of major metropolitan cities...your nieghtbourhood is where that exodus will come to a grinding and violent halt. Bridges out of cities, or highways leading to the 'burbs will quickly become deadlocked...and cars will begin either running out of fuel or overheating. Abandoned cars (some in the middle of the road) will put a stop to the exodus rather quickly...and tempers will flare.


In cities...where people don't realize the situation, the rioting will be fairly consumeristic...stores robbed and vandalized, cars overturned, a few fires set...rape, murder etc... at first, only a few people will make a run at grocery stores and camping stores (the paranoids). Once it's been 2 days or so, and communication is still down, and the battery-powerred radios are getting only static...then it'll get rough. Crowd dynamics will drive it....not individual mentality anymore. Some will run (exodus), some will fortify, some will go nuts (violent rioting) and most will die. I can see the criminal elements faring well in such a situation...they're already well armed and already part of a group. It'd be a matter of finding food and taking it from those who are not well protected.

Large group dynamics will only last so long. Off hand, I'd say that any group of over 15 people will suffer. "An army runs on it's stomach" is the quote that comes to mind. It's far more difficult to feed a large group than a small one. Small groups living in co-opted farms will have the best chances. You grow enough to feed yourselves, plus store up your larder. Enough people to protect your land, plus scrounge, plus work the farm. A dozen should do it...not counting kids.

...(TBC)

 

[Mirlyn]

well...this requires a little bit of modern convenience...but you can cook meat or fish inside of a tin can in the coals of the fire...you can use the same can over and over...but for anyone who is actually amassing supplies for armaggedon, may i recommend a small cast iron skillet.

Oh yeah, I've always used foil for fish on the coals. A few drops of water or an onion keeps things nice and moist inside. 'Though, a can would be reusabe moreso than foil...

 

[Oz]

I think you're selling quite a few people short. I wholeheartedly believe that I, personally, could survive with nothing but a crude knife and some clothing that's from the climate I'm in. I would lose some weight, to be sure, but the basics are out there. You just have to know where to look. Bread and wheat, while nice, are not needed. Most plants I eat would grow practically anywhere as well. I've even been known to dig up cat-tail roots in a pinch. Meat, while nice to have, can be replaced by fish. You don't even need pots and pans if you can find a flat rock to place over your heat source (fire). It's not as hard as you think. You just got used to the idea of your 'stuff' being what you need, instead of what you want.

Most starchy/carbohydrate foods can be readily scrounged from the foliage. Meat, or protien from fish will of course be necessary.....but hunting often forces one to use more calories than the food caught will supply and fishing is a tenuose venture at best (even building fish traps is pretty hit and miss) so your best source of protien are insects and other inveterbrates. Sounds gross, but earthworms, beetles, ants etc are a readily available source of protien when you need to survive in the wild for an extended period of time (hope y'all ain't eating lunch while reading this ).

Cooking utensils are nice, but not necessary.....skewer food on sticks to slow roast, or if you find yourself in arable land dig a little and find clay.......simply wrap any food in the clay and bake it in the fire (hedgehog is particularly good, as the clay hardens and removes the spines while it bakes)....clay baking also ensures that esential nutrients etc are baked into the food, instead of being burned off or evaporating.

Lighting fires is also overlooked, of course matches/lighters, and flint and steel are a must......but a lense of some description (or a friend who wears glasses) will be handy in the long term.....tis very easy to start a fire with a bit of sunlight, a lens and some shavings from a silver birch bark (the bark is very rich in sulphor.....goes up like a firework)

 

[MrBishop]

The Me vs You mentality

The Me mentality means that you're going to look out for yourself (and your family) first and foremost.
The You mentality is the cultural veneer that Cam mentioned in her post...the socialist in all of us..the part that makes us jump into rivers to save strangers from drowning, that make us pick up people who have fallen on black ice, to run towards the sounds of screaming to see if we can help.

The first victim of any chaotic event (at least the big ones) is the You mentality. Don't offer help and don't ask for it. Save yourself first, and if you can..help your friends. If you can't...they'll just have to understand.

The Me mentality comes around during the beginning of the rioting and comes back after the demise of the You. People will cling to their humanity desperately once the first wave of the rioting has stopped and the group dynamics have stopped. They'll try to help their neighbours, put out fires, take people to hospitals etc... they'll try to nod politely to others that they meet, and won't try to push and shove their way into grocery stores. I give this humanity about 12 hours (from Sunup till Sundown)...in the light of day...the full realization of the damage done will come into play...the human damage. The "Oh shit...what have we done?" effect. Once the sun goes down and people are missing a meal (or have missed two)...the Me effect will kick in again. There's something about darkness that brings it out. Being in the dark and being hungry and being scared will drive the Me effect into full gear again. It won't be a full-blown Me effect...just people trying to find food. There'll be pushing this time...and some heated words, and maybe some fighting.

...TBC

 

[MrBishop]

or if you find yourself in arable land dig a little and find clay.......simply wrap any food in the clay and bake it in the fire (hedgehog is particularly good, as the clay hardens and removes the spines while it bakes)....clay baking also ensures that esential nutrients etc are baked into the food, instead of being burned off or evaporatin)

I also like the hot-rocks method of cooking. Start a fire...add lots of rocks to the fire once it's started. Dig a nice hole...place rocks inside, add your animal...place hot rocks on top...bury the lot. It's slow cooking and you have to discard the skin before eating...but it works rather well for animals with large musculatures (which need to be slow cooked). If you try it on open flame...you'll either burn the meat or not cook it enough.

 

[Oz]

I also like the hot-rocks method of cooking. Start a fire...add lots of rocks to the fire once it's started. Dig a nice hole...place rocks inside, add your animal...place hot rocks on top...bury the lot. It's slow cooking and you have to discard the skin before eating...but it works rather well for animals with large musculatures (which need to be slow cooked). If you try it on open flame...you'll either burn the meat or not cook it enough.

Indeed (wrapped salmon works particularly well with that method ).

Another skill nearly everyone should know (if yer waiting for amegaddon yer might want to read up on it) is curing/salting/pickling/drying/preserving/smoking food. with a lil' patience tis remarkably easy.....but anyone with these skills is going to be invaluable to a community. Also distillation skills, primarily for water but also for ethanol.....just don't leave me in charge of the still

 

[Camelyn]

Also distillation skills, primarily for water but also for ethanol.....just don't leave me in charge of the still

Oh! Oh! I can do that Can I join the post-armageddon commune, can I, huh?

And don't forget to include someone with a more than passing knowlege of local plants and their medicinal uses. A very useful if not necessary skill, once medicines become scarce.

 

[MrBishop]

and the important job of community whore. I wouldn't be surprised if some people got 'let into' certain communities without any useful skills other than..er.. entertainment purposes.

 

[paul_valaru]

and the important job of community whore. I wouldn't be surprised if some people got 'let into' certain communities without any useful skills other than..er.. entertainment purposes.

I'm entertaining

 

[Gonz]

No one man, woman or child can (for instance) make a meal by themselves.

I wanted to reply in another direction but I just can't seem to get past what you said there. I patently refuse to accept that premise.

With few exceptions, mankind can, has & will makes its way. We've lived far closer to barbarism for far longer than the reverse. It's easier to live in hordes where individuals can specialize but if and/or when we lose the ability to care for ourselves, in singles or immediate family member groups only, then we, as a species, are dead.

 

[Gonz]

24 hours and two (missed) meals for society to degrade into chaos.

Earthquakes, floods, tornado's, war, pestilence...it's all been whooped by the might of humanity.