The End of the World as We Know It

[Matt79]

Saw a strange/interesting article in the Weekend Australian just gone regarding the survivalist movement in Australia, which essentially ran the line of "there are lots more survivalists than you'd think, and they're not all lunatics bunkered down in the backwoods with shotguns and tinned food".

Raised the question, assuming we came to "The End of the World as We Know It" and civilization and law and order became things that were referred to only in the past tense, what's the first thing you'd loot?

After having a bit of a think about it today, while waiting in line at the chemist, I decided a pharmacy would be pretty high on my list. Grab as many pain killers, antibiotics, medical supplies and jellybeans as I could. Can always barter for petrol and food later on from some diabetic who needs insulin down the track...

[silentstriker]

Weapons. I could 'barter' you for your medicine and get a good deal.

Followed by medicine, followed by food/water.

In such a situation, I'd probably get away from the populated areas as much as possible to avoid the inevitable violence and maybe try to start up a small band/community with like minded people. In the end, humans are social creatures and would form civilization of some kind (even if its small bands of 10-20 people) pretty quickly.

Of course, if there was a massive nuclear winter, and there were only few months/years until the human race became extinct, people would be a lot more desperate, and things might be much more vicious and most people would be solo or in very small groups.

[Matt79]

Yeah, ever since 'Look Who's Talking 2' came out, guns have been the obvious first choice...

[Athlai]

Basically I'd go Mad Max and then Mad Max 2 and after that I'd retired and there would never be a third part to my life story and all would be well.

[silentstriker]

On a related note, has anyone read 'The Road' by Cormac McCarthy? The best novel I've read on the subject.

"Borrowed time and borrowed world and borrowed eyes with which to sorrow it." Very harrowing stuff.

[Son Of Coco]

I'd watch all of 'The Office' (UK Version) again and do whatever Gareth suggests.

[Matt79]

^^ Sounds great, will have to get it. Weirdly enough, I've always wanted to be a writer, and the longest piece I've written is an opening chapter for a book about a guy trying to trek from Sydney to Melbourne in a post-nuclear Australia.

[martin88]

We might all become cannibals, in a case of drastic emergency like a nuclear winter or something like that. Perhaps we might have been earlier, especially during the population bottleneck that happened some tens of thousands years back, when the total human population dwindled down to about a thousand. Impeccable survivors those.

[silentstriker]

Or lucky.

[Langeveldt]

I'd go to the gun store, stock up on heaters and ammo, and then take my board for a huge surf

[cover drive man]

Survival instinct kicks in, most people would under extreme conditions to anything for survival. SS I know there is a part of the brain which works on just survival, are our brains more advanced than those of animals though, do animals just have the survival instinct? Or am I talking rubbish

[Langeveldt]

haha ^ this

[cover drive man]

Originally Posted by Langeveldt

haha ^ this

Why? Its not a stupid question.

[silentstriker]

Originally Posted by cover drive man

Survival instinct kicks in, most people would under extreme conditions to anything for survival. SS I know there is a part of the brain which works on just survival, are our brains more advanced than those of animals though, do animals just have the survival instinct? Or am I talking rubbish

I don't know, I would say most things that most would people would do in that situation would have something to do with bettering their survival chances. In any case, all mammals have a developed frontal lobe which may help them override some of the older functions, but as for how much and quantifying something like that, I don't think anyone knows as of yet. I suppose it's related to the concept of consciousness, and you'd have to first define it and then figure out which animals have it.

In any case, I think things would go as most people expect them to go.

[cover drive man]

Interesting.