How long does S last when the fan is spinning?

[MadKaw]

Seems to me there is an essential dimension left out while we have fun talking about SHTF. How long does it last. There is an essential difference between a hurricane, when chaos is going to be measured in weeks, an EMP, where chaos would be measured in months, nuclear war - chaos ~ years, and alien invasion/zombie uprising which would mean chaos to be measured in decades or centuries.
Seems to me that most plans I've ever heard are all on the short end of the spectrum. Admittedly, short term survival is important to the implementation of long term plans, but ...
Has anybody thought about what to do in 10, 20, even 50 years?

[91 whiskey]

Has anybody thought about what to do in 10, 20, even 50 years?

According to what I have seen and read we would form into various clans, start popping babies out to sustain the population and in the case of invasion by a superior force start reverting to gorilla tactics.

[BigSkiff]

The flow of "S" is sinusoidal. It increases and decreases but it never stops. It just loads up the fan blades at times, slowing the rotation until enough slides off and the fan resumes speed. In 50 years it will no longer matter as the depth of the accumulated "S" will exceed our ability to move through it, around it or over it! Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, and "S" to "S"!

[vonzipper]

According to what I have seen and read we would form into various clans, start popping babies out to sustain the population and in the case of invasion by a superior force start reverting to gorilla tactics.

seriousl? really? 56 yrs old and I gotta start a new family??? NO WAY

[Jake3501]

Seems to me there is an essential dimension left out while we have fun talking about SHTF. How long does it last. There is an essential difference between a hurricane, when chaos is going to be measured in weeks, an EMP, where chaos would be measured in months, nuclear war - chaos ~ years, and alien invasion/zombie uprising which would mean chaos to be measured in decades or centuries.
Seems to me that most plans I've ever heard are all on the short end of the spectrum. Admittedly, short term survival is important to the implementation of long term plans, but ...
Has anybody thought about what to do in 10, 20, even 50 years?

The really long term shtf situations might not be worth living through....in one of those...one might hope to be near the shtf factor and go quickly and painlessly.

If it goes on more than six months, life's gonna be a -----.

[btleslie]

Short or long term those who can already live off the land will have it easier than those who can't. Ammo may run out, but there are always more primitive means of survival.

I know we like our comforts, but being able to rough it will see you through in the end. Rest assured there will be a steep learning curve for most of us unless we grew up in a primitive society or one that is still connected to the old ways.

JMO

[Czechbikr]

It probably depends greatly upon the extent of the infrastructure damage. If we get pushed back to the Stone Age we will find ourselves in a sustenance type economy we will still benefit from the people trained in the machine tool trades, woodworkers, physicians, and other skilled personnel in the first generation. there will be an atrophy of these skills when subsequent generations either cannot or will not expend the time needed to learn them. Picture the 18th century with life moving a lot slower and 18 hour days being the norm. I actually think there will be a regression for the first 60-80 years if the event is severe enough. I am speaking primarily of a nuclear conflict or plague type epidemic reducing the nation's population by 50% or more.

[rollin thunder]

Here's the "Rule of Three" 3 minutes, 3 hours, 3 days, 3 weeks
http://www.smithfieldcity.org/downlo...articles_a.pdf

[MOONDAWG]

How long does TSHTF last?

If one is amongst the first to go, then not long...

[MadKaw]

I got started on this train of thought because I've started reading a book by John Morrell - The Testament. He raised the question of the difference between short term and long term survival and I've been extending that train.
It's not a new theme in fiction - a couple of Heinlein's books come to mind, Farnham's Freehold and A Tunnel in the Sky, for instance. I just know I've left that layer out of my plans. Maybe it doesn't matter. My family is spread out all over the country, and my wife and I are too old to start over. So in a real long-term SHTF scenario, I suppose my function is cannon fodder. Computer science sure won't be much good. Gun handling is, at best a short term function. Perhaps I should learn how to make black powder...