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Comment by kstenerud | Hacker News Reader

The importance of this is almost nil, because you'll never find someone else who understands any of these at a time when it would actually be useful.

In a catastrophic situation, you have two options: hunker down, or walk out (never drive). Staying put means that you can stockpile a few weeks worth of food and water.

Walking out means that you might eventually get to a place not affected, but it requires a lot more preparation. Have cash, food + water for a few days, two flashlights, first aid kit, compass, paper maps in ziploc bags, a knife, axe, portable stove, pot, fork, spoon, nylon cord, poncho, polar fleece, spare leather shoes, socks, warm hat, multiple redundant sources of fire, and possibly some luxuries like a tarp if you can handle the weight (but better not to). And know something about survival in the woods.

You take your chances either way.

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>> because you'll never find someone else who understands any of these at a time when it would actually be useful.

I understand what you are saying, but I'm going to make a guess here... you have never served in the military, have you? There is a whole subset of the population(veterans) around you, who had (from the article) smoke signals, hand signals, and morse code drilled into our heads. We may be rusty, but it's like riding a bike. It might not be as nifty as making a fire by rubbing 2 sticks together, but a couple of us each with a piece of broken glass can communicate miles away by signal flashing morse code.

Also, the article was about communicating. Your reply seems to be more about self-preservation during an emergency. There is some overlap in those 2 domains, but they are not the same.

> The importance of this is almost nil, because you'll never find someone else who understands any of these at a time when it would actually be useful.

No one understands AM/FM radio, NOAA weather radios, CB radio, walkie talkies, or ham radio?

Search and rescue pilots do not understand the body signals and ground symbols given in the FAA's Aeronautical Information Manual (also part of the Convention on International Civil Aviation), which should be studied as part of basic pilot training?

A bit of Googling turns up that three or six regularly spaced flashes of light, blasts from an airhorn, tweets on a whistle, gunshots, etc., is an internationally recognized distress signal in mountain regions, and seems to be well known among the relevant populations.

86% of all people age 15 and above in the world can read, so finding someone who can understand a physical message board should not be a problem. Physical message boards are in fact often used in disaster situations when other communications is down.

> In a catastrophic situation, you have two options: hunker down, or walk out (never drive).

If you're going to prep all of this stuff so you have options in case of an emergency:

> Have cash, food + water for a few days, two flashlights, first aid kit, compass, paper maps in ziploc bags, a knife, axe, portable stove, pot, fork, spoon, nylon cord, poncho, polar fleece, spare leather shoes, socks, warm hat, multiple redundant sources of fire, and possibly some luxuries like a tarp if you can handle the weight (but better not to).

it's probably better to prepare a bike (gravel or cyclocross for best flexibility and efficiency) as well so you can get to where you want to go 5-10x faster. You just have to wait a day until everyone has run out of gas so you can take the highway.

Nice list - tarp takes little no weight and allows you to sleep outside so I wouldn't pput it in the luxury section.

I'd also add a couple of emergency blankets for cold and hot weather, plus a foam mat to isolate your body from the floor. I'd drop the fork in favor of makeshift chopsticks, and/or cut the spoon into a spork. Wool for everything textile you wear.

Do you contest that synthetic shoes are ill-suited for a walk out attempt?

I'm saying that proper leather shoes tend to be built for better longevity, can take a beating, can be repaired easier, and you'll likely already be wearing synthetic shoes when the catastrophe occurs anyway.

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