Day 74: Your Mission, If You Choose to Accept It.

Look at the Basic/Intermediate Skill List as well as the Advanced/Elite Skill List, and respond in the comments what you think are the TEN MOST IMPORTANT SKILLS TO KNOW to:

1. Survive the Zombie Invasion.
2. Prosper in a Post-Apocalyptic Society.

Now here's the catch: don't imagine you're you.  Y'see, you know stuff.  You're like, useful and shit.  You can start a car with a banana and grow a tomato with a piece of gum and a build a firearm with a pack of matches and a can of tuna.  No, don't imagine you're you.   

Imagine you're me, coming at this from a I-know-nothing perspective. A virtual tabula rasa.  A complete moron.  Take into account that I've got basic first aid and CPR covered, and list the ten skills from the above lists that you think are the bare-bones of living through the Zombocalypse.

Go.

Comments

[Damien]

I would like to preface all of this with the caveat that some of these are obviously interrelated, and I am assuming that the more you start with, the more you'll be able to pick up as you go. That said, this was very difficult to choose:

# storing food

# orienteering

# gun safety & maintenance (Ed.: and related)

# woodchopping

# starting/building a fire sans matches

# building rudimentary shelter

# foraging/identifying edible plants

# gather/purify water

# hotwiring a car

# climate training (Desert/Cold)

[TehMate]

Identifying with you was really easy, seeing as I also don't function in the real world. (To quote Penny Arcade, "Outside? Aren't there *bears* Outside?")(Also the fact that I quote PA is a hint all by itself.)

That's a really big and thought-out list you have there, and paring down was tough (in fact I'm tempted to add a thing or two). But here's stuff that seemed the most important, in order of importance most-to-least:

* starting/building a fire sans matches
* gather/purify water
* cooking over campfire
* orienteering
* climate training (Desert/Cold)
* storing food
* advanced first aid
* starvation training
* load & fire handgun
* swimming/holding breath

Obviously there's a certain philosophy at work when choosing the skills; my choices are the ones that would simply keep you alive for the longest amount of time, on the assumption that sustenance, shelter and weapons can be scavenged (so nothing needs to be grown, made or maintained, at least at first), and any skill you don't know you can learn in the meantime (learning to drive stick is simply a matter of wrecking enough cars - it's not like their former owners will mind). I realize this limits me to a subset of apocalypses, but it was the only way to get to ten...

[Fearsclave]

To be honest, I have issues with your skill lists. Just for starters, hydroponics is going to be useless in a world without electricity, running water, hydroponics supply stores and grow-light manufacturing infrastructure. Also, I think there are some omissions, and some of what you have listed is maybe a little granular: for example, pretty much all of your shooting-related items could be lumped into "shooting skills"; as you learn more about guns you cover pretty much all the shooting related skills you list.

So if you don't mind, I'll do my own list instead (and while it is based on years worth of reading about survival, survivalism, shooting, and self-sufficiency, I'll make no claims as to completeness or personal expertise).

A) Surviving the Inevitable Zombie Uprising

1) Alertness and awareness: The key to surviving attack is mindset. Col. Jeff Cooper did some work on mindset in self-defence; see here for an explanation of his Colour Code ( http://www.frfrogspad.com/color.htm ) and then marvel at how much time you spend in Condition White, easy prey for anything.

2) Shooting skills: I'd have to put shooting skills as second only to alertness and awareness here.

3) Hand to hand combat skills: melee weapons and martial arts are third-rate solutions to the problem of how to deal with a zombie horde, but our ammo supply is sadly finite.

4) Hiking: the ability to cover ground on foot is probably going to be essential when the zombies rise and gas deliveries stop, so knowing how to pick a good pair of hiking boots and pack a rucksack may save your life.

5) Motor vehicle skills: these might save your ass at the outset. Long-term, once you're out of gas, they'll be less useful.

6) Navigation: being able to read map and compass and find your way around is of obvious important. Getting lost takes on whole new levels of unpleasantness when there are zombies about.

7) Construction and demolition skills: in a category three or worse outbreak, you're likely going to be doing a bit of barricade building, breaking and entering, and improvising shelters.

8) Bushcraft/wilderness survival skills: how to light fires, gather firewood, find and purify drinking water, tracking, shelter building, wild plant identification, etc.

9) First aid skills.

10) Determination and ruthlessness: the ability to switch all of your civilized behavioural inhibitions off and do whatever it takes to save yourself and your loved ones.

B) Rebuilding After The Zeds Are Dead (Again)

1) All of the above skills.

2) Remembering how to behave like a human being once the threat is past. It'll probably be pretty unsafe for a long time, but in order to rebuild, we'll need to pick up the habits of civilization again.

3) Gardening: growing your own food is going to be essential when all the burger flippers have been zombified and subsequently had their brains destroyed or heads removed. John Seymour's Complete Guide to Self-Sufficiency would be a good start on this topic.

4) Livestock husbandry: goats, chickens, pigs, rabbits, horses, and cows are going to be worth far more than Hummers, plasma HDTVs, and Italian shoes once we start picking ourselves out of the rubble. Again, Seymour is a good place to start.

5) Food preservation: with no refrigerators, the ability to preserve food is going to be essential. This, by the way, includes brewing beer. Once again, John Seymour wrote the book...

6) Hunting: protein is protein, whether it's a steak or squirrel stew. And Will Smith was doing it wrong in I Am Legend. Unfortunately, Seymour's coverage of hunting sucks.

7) Scavenging: once the zombies are gone, there will be raw materials galore...

8) MacGuyverizing: ...and not all of it will be in a prepackaged form, ready-to-assemble form, with instructions and allen wrenches included. The ability to improvise will have to replace going shopping.

9) Maintenance and repair: from guns to garden tools to leaky roofs, we aren't going to be able to call plumbers or building contractors, or buy replacements, so we're going to have to learn how to take care of stuff and keep it working.

10) Entertainment: Post-Apocalyptic subsistence farming is probably going to be dull drudgery, and if we've lost elecricity, renting a movie after work is not going to be an option. People who can sing or make music or tell funny stories are going to be in high demand.

[Mandy (redjade)]

In no particular order. I did, however, group a few because it was silly to look at them as separate skills.
Get Stronger
Get Faster
Swimming/holding breath
Advanced first aid
climate training
GUNS (cleaning/loading/firing/upkeep etc.)
Electrical wiring (surely if you can work with electricity, you can spark a fire)
Gather/purify water
Engine maintenance
hand to hand combat/self defense.

I still readily admit that I would be one of the first to get eaten. But it's nice to know that ,perhaps, my suggestions might help others. ;)

[Alyce Smythee]

Ok.. You totally have to become a proficient midwife.

[the slackmistress]

@Fearsclave: Once again, the lists aren't exhaustive, nor are they in order of any sort of importance, which is precisely why I'm posing the question of what would make your top ten list. An impossible task? Well yes, of course But this is a near-impossible project, because you can't prepare for every possible scenario. And I certainly don't have the time or the money to do so.

I've blogged long enough to know that simply by putting thoughts out there means that people are going to critique them. I am one person and one person only. I have no help, I have little money, and I don't have the luxury of spending hours a day researching online, which is why I reach out to readers (which is what I did when compiling the lists to begin with.)

I don't have the time, nor the know-how, to sit down and come up with a list of every single thing that a human being would have to do to survive an attack and rebuild a civilization. I have to live in this world, I have to pay my rent, I have to go to work, I have to sit in hospital rooms with my husband while he recovers from surgery.

I apologize if my project does not meet your exacting standards, but I am doing the best that I possibly can. If you cannot understand that, then I don't know what to tell you.

[Kim]

Hmmm, on my first look through the list I only get nine as the most important for beginnings of survival. Other things are also necessary, of course, but this is my list. I call my method Get Me the F*ck Away from That method of surviving the apocalypse.

*gather/purify water--because all else will pale in comparison to finding good, untainted water. Knowing how to purify water you find will be imperative. You can go a few days without sufficient food while you run away or go on gathering raids. You cannot live without a steady intake of clean water.

*get faster (outrun zombies)--if you can get away from them, they can't get you ;)

*marathon walking--most zombies (at least the slow ones that make "sense" to me) can't run for long periods of time. A good run to get away followed by an extended ability to walk should be sufficient.

*bike safety & maintenance--a good, no gas way to get away.

*boating--this also goes with the Getting Away. It'll be good to have several options open--on foot, on wheels, on water.

*swimming/holding breath--and this goes with the boating, for safety, of course.

*gun safety & maintenance
*load & fire handgun--these two go together. Because, while in a perfect scenario you'll always be able to get away, but sometimes, you'll probably need to make a hole where you'll be able to get away. Getting a start on the basics as soon as possible is probably a good idea. I wouldn't touch anything larger than a handgun for a while. Master this first, then move up to shotguns and rifles.

*diplomacy--because I've seen that movie. Have you seen that movie? Where everyone dies because they couldn't work out their differences and talk it out? I'm sure there are some books or something about talking to people. This would probably be something you could work on in the background of other training.

And one more . . . I'll go with
*first aid. Specifically basic veterinary first aid. Knowing that your priorities revolve around getting you and your beloved companion out of harm's way, and that you've already tackled basic first aid for humans, I think the veterinary aspect should be next on your list. As well as slowly moving on to advanced first aid to humans, but that would make 11 :P

[Ian Muller]

In no particular order, and with no reason given (other than, these would be the top 10 on my list after first aid...

orienteering
foraging/identifying edible plants
gather/purify water
gun safety & maintenance/load & fire handgun/load & fire rifle/load & fire shotgun
archery/crossbow skills
lockpicking
climate training (Desert/Cold)
rock climbing
starting/building a fire sans matches
growing food

[Damien]

Not strictly key, but was talking with Kim, up there, in another arena, and realised that my difficulty in choosing for this list is precisely the reason that I want to be with a group of diverse individuals, whom I trust, when the shit goes down.

So much of my current work is geared toward exactly that.

See The Walking Dead, DMZ and so on, but what are your thoughts on the community aspects of post-apocalyptic survival?

[astrothsknot]

it's funny how people forget that this is just meant to be a bit of fun...

[Chris]

I like your list and in my humble opinion;

1. Growing food
2.Basic Construction
3. Swimming (important)
4. Foraging and identifying plants
5. Starting a fire sans matches (important)
6. Woodchopping/sawing
7. Archery
8, 9 and 10. Load/fire pistol, rifle and shotgun.

I believe these are good basic/intermediate skills not only for zombies but even possibly aliens or just general sucky disasters.

[Chris]

I am posting twice and I really hope this dose not make me horrible but I never read anyone else's comment until I was done. I think your project is way cool and your approach realistic and possible, if you've read The Stand, you know all the preparation could be blown with simple inexplicable equipment failure and in out modern society it kills people every day. I think making yourself capable and self reliant in a post apocalyptic society is great in so much as you don't forget to live in the preapocalyptic one. Keep going in your direction, I think when all is said and done you could very well surprise yourself with what little you've already learned and hopefully will learn in the future. Sorry this got long, I'm a blogger too and it happens, keep up the great job!

[Fearsclave]

@Slackmistress: Oh hey, that wasn't exactly intended as *negative* criticism, you know. I think you're doing great for someone who's been at this survivalism/preparedness thing less than three months. In fact, you're considerably more articulate, literate, entertaining, and your ideas better thought out, than some of the full-time hard-core survivalist bloggers out there...

[Crystal McCalvey]

1: basic construction

Running is great but as everyone knows, you can't run forever. Not to mention everyone has to sleep. Basic construction is essential during these moments for boarding up windows, and knowing which abandoned buildings are structuraly sound so that they don't collapse from the weight of zombies trying to get to that tasty person inside.

2: orienteering

You never know where you'll be at when the zombie-pocalypse occurs. It might be in familiar territory, or it could be in an unfamiliar city. Even if you have the luck of the home-ground advantage, it can be disconcerting at night or when you're trying to shake some zombies from your tail. Knowing how to find your way once you've become lost will save you from stumbling back onto the same pack of zombies you just managed to evade.

3: rock climbing

True, there may be no mountains or cliffs where you're at when evading zombies, but there is a specialized branch of rock climbing that is very useful here: Urban climbing. Buildings have so many nooks and crannies that someone capable and skilled in rock climbing can turn the side of a brick building into an impromptu rock-face to scale. It is a common known fact that zombies really suck at looking up.

4: fire safety

It may seem like a good idea, fighting the living dead (or is that undead?) with fire. Then again, do you really need Zombie a la Flambe trying to give you a hug? Or walking around catching your carefully kept safe house aflame? Let's just avoid those scenarios all together while we can.

5: gather/purify water

Contrary to popular belief, water does not just come packaged in nicely recyclable bottles. There's tons of it around if you just know where to look, or know how to rig up a dew-collector atop a roof. Water is essential to the survival of every living thing. Do not dehydrate.

6: learning to drive a manual transmission

There's going to be a lot of abandoned cars out there just waiting to be used as a road blockade, or quick escape by the crafty survivalist. They're not all going to be automatics. Having the engine choke out might work for the purposes of date night, but not so much when there's guys with hooks, and killer zombies around.

7: hotwiring a car

Lots of cars to pick from; very few with the keys left in the ignition. Though it's possible you could dig through someone's house to swipe the keys, there's the chance they're already zombies if they haven't used their car to begin with. Zombies are horrible at letting people borrow things. They'll charge you an arm, leg, and brain for it.

8: climate training (Desert/Cold)

Zombies are pack creatures, and as such they stick where the other zombies do. Usually. There's the occasional stray, but when it comes down to it, zombies are going to be attracted to the flashy lights and noise of a city. This makes the wilderness an optimal method of survival by avoiding them entirely, in spite of what the occasional horror movie may say. And, even if you're not happily out in the woods or on the side of a mountain, it's still liable to get really cold at night with the whole lack of electricity in a majority of the city. Remember, the point of surviving zombies is to keep your body intact. No losing toes to Jack Frost.

9: load & fire handgun

Rifles are better for distance, but handguns... well, they're just easier to carry. You can stuff about five handguns on yourself if you're clever, but a rifle has rather limited mobility options. There will be times when it's easier to drop one gun for a new one rather than try to fumble a clip out to reload.

10: marksmanship

Anyone can shoot a gun. Shooting a gun well is essential to survival. To start with, it's rather important to actually hit your target, but it's also important to conserve your ammunition since you may not be able to hop down to the local 24 hour Donut'n'Gunshop to stock up.