Best skill to have in a post apocalyptic world?

I was wondering what would be the single best skill to have in a post WW3 world.

(We shall assume that everyone knows how to feed,clothe and provide shelter for themselves, grow veggies, fish, hunt etc etc)

For me it's a toss up of having advanced medical knowledge and being able to treat people, or having the ability to make gunpowder.

Remember you will more than likely have to deal with groups of people and there is no such thing as law enforcement etc etc..

reply to post by DisabledVet


I guess social skills will be a must - able to group with other people, to create communities etc. Everyone has some kind of specific skills, and when people are together it would make things easier.
As for the engineering skills - well, some Physics would be very good, once you know how stuff work you can use the knowledge to adapt it to your new environment. I would say at least college level of physics (and the necessary math do do the physics too) would be a must. Making Gun powder skills could be good skill if you have the ingredients, but i guess a post apocalyptic world would not really make it easy to produce it.

yeah social skills and even military training would help. also I think there would be quite a few people who couldnt hunt or fish, and they would probably band together and try and raid others for their goods. In that case you would diff. want some military/weapons/combat experienced people around. I seriously think quite a few people would just be completely worthless should a scenario like this ever occur.

I would have to say the most important skill would be ingenuity. If you have high ingenuity then you can accomplish quite a bit. Those things you don't know how to do you find a way to do it or make it work. I think it would make survival much easier and simpler.

Second most important is common sense.



My .02

I would of said the opposite to you people, i would say it would be good for coping by yourself.

In a broken world, there will be a whole lot of fixing to be done.
Those with the label "jack-of-all-trades" would most likely be our VIPs.

Similarly those who naturally think "out-side-of-the-box", who show creativity, vision and the ability to focus will lead the way in our next evolutionary step.

Detailed Medical, Civil Engineering or extensive construction knowledge would be mine as well. It will make yourself a key component to any communties you meet along the way.

I liked disabledvet's gunpower one though that affords anyone who knows it the luxury of being the most powerful people on the face of the post apocalyptic planet.

Swordsmanship. Guns are useless when you run out of bullets.

The ability to remain an optimist under any circumstances.

There are people who simply are "survivors" and can handle it... all the guns and knowledge in the world wont be worth a damn if... your not the kind of person who can Psychologically... enjoy... a sit x, scenario

I have read alot of stories about people who survived impossible things, big hobby of mine...

Some people get lost at sea and... just don't make it, 20 people can be in that water and one by one they will give out or thier body will fail under the stress, some slip into the water, others have heart attacks

and there is always that One guy who... can concieve that he can float on his back indefinitely and if he just keeps kicking and stays alive will eventually make it somewhere...

and there seems to be a single key thing and it's... (optimism isn't really the right word)

It's an ability to be self satisfied I think... you can live half starved in a bomb shelter all year sipping a few drops of water daily and find ways to entertain yourself and not go loopy..or you can't

Some guys go to prison camps in war and just die..or come out ruined... Other guys McCain for example come out and... go on to run for Senate and President

There is a fundamental difference in people like that, and alot of research has been done on the subject...

You can eat Earth worms in the jungle and be happy or you mourn your loss and worry and panic and die...

So i say... The Psychological capacity to be self satisfied in any circumstances

Stregnth from within, inner peace, anything else you can learn or take once your okay... but that discipline of self love, inner stregnth... meditation, martial arts, mental discipline and positive thinking...

A strong Psyche... and you need nothing else

prob the skills to make weapons

Originally posted by DisabledVet
I was wondering what would be the single best skill to have in a post WW3 world. ...

The ability to adapt to changing circumstances. Followed a close second by a strong will to survive.

Some great answers here mentioned

I agree with sty that social skills are a must, in fact I would go one step further and suggest social engineering skills i.e. the ability to lie or trick other people convincingly, into getting what you want.

Simon_Boudreaux hits the nail on the head with ingenuity, the ability to adapt would also be essential.

I don't think there is one best skill to have in a post apocalyptic world to be honest, I would say intelligence would be the best skill, if you could call it that.

reply to post by The All Seeing I


i agree the jack-of-all-trades type of guy is gonna be the most valuable to have around. cause how often are you going to need a specialized doctor or a physicist?

When it really comes down to i don't thinks its going to be the lawyers and doctors that the people look to for help but the rural handyman you give 20 bucks to paint your house.

Peace

Justice

Flexibility..

The ability to adapt to providing everything for yourself/your family that you have relied on/paid other people to do for you.
It would be nice to see people revert to bartering for such services,but once the shock of change hits,the idea of exchanging resources won't even enter people's heads.

I'm thinking WWIII will be the 'Elites' against the real people..Seems to me that it started already.

reply to post by DisabledVet


Learn it quick, I say.

Bo-staff skills would be best. Knowledge of Akido. Have a tent with duct tape....

Ime going to have to say its a little of every thing already posted. With a lot of luck thrown in, just for good measure.

I know its a cop out but in all honesty it is true. No one skill is more impotent then any others. It has to be a blend of all or the games over.

Originally posted by pluckynoonez
Have a tent with duct tape....

Haha .Giant fly-paper trap if you rolled over in the night "Help me..pleazzzzz" I love that film..classic.

There's just nothing you can't do with Gaffer-Tape.

I think the ability to work with metals will become sought after again. Smithery. Swords commonplace,as said earlier..ammo not so common.

I can see a market for bushcraft schools galore at the moment..maybe "wilderness-fitness" too.
Hell,if it gets people out the house more often,it's a good thing.

Best skill to have in a post apocalyptic world?

In the past year or so, I have tried to collect as many (fact books) as I can. The "skill" would be if I could try at my best to understand and use the infomation from those type of books.

Being an all-rounder, able to learn from others skills and then pass them around to others.
Works for me

will to survive.


one liner.