What is a true "Survival Situation"?
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Yes.
Tango2X, I made the same mistake on a Philosophy exam in college. He said 'imminent risk of death', key word being 'imminent'.
It does not remove the 'possibility of death' from the equation, just immediate possibility of death.
I will give an example:
I was in Texas, on 800 acres of private land and took off on an ATV one morning (foolishly without telling anyone where I was going) and about 45 minutes to an hour later I skidded out of control and spun off veering off a bridge to the ravine below.
I am not sure how long I ws out cold for, guess the only thing I know it ws under 3 minutes as when I regained consciousness, I had the wind knocked out of me. (thus why under 3 mins being out). I had 2 sprung wrists, lacerations, and a huge gash wound on my knee, not to mention a concussion.
I had no idea which direction I came from, and had to find a way back up out of the ravine. Have no doubt, I was in a survival SHTF situation.
Do I stay put? well that is usually the route one should take, but this wsn't the usual. No one knew I left, that i took an ATV, or which direction that I took let alone the fact I crossed a bridge. The survival situation started the second I veered off bridge and continued with every decision I made.
I have had a crap load of concussions in my lifetime, and this was not the worst of them, and I knew well enough to not to fall asleep (intentionally that is), but there was still a risk. My knee wasn't gushing blood in the 'squirting' out sense, so mending the wound to slow the bleeding meant I was not at imminent risk of bleeding out (if I wasn't found on other hand?)
Looking around for my own tracks I was able to figure out the direction I should be heading back to. Within a few hours of walking, one of the farm hands found me while he was driving the rancher's truck.
Later someone translated to me what he said to me
" ******, I would never have thought to check for you across the bridge, you are lucky you started walking back"
I ended up needing surgery on my knee do to how deep it was, and had ace bandages on my wrists for over a month, not to mention that damn headache.
Was I in imminent risk of death? No.
Was there a chance my photo would end up on a milk crate? If I went the other direction away from the bridge, yes.
Could the complications of my knee and head injury kill me. Well, only if I was never found, but being in Texas at the time, and with my father being on that trip, I think he would have gone to hell and back so no, no risk of death.
But, I was in risk of losing my leg below the knee, and I did have a concussion, so this does qualify as a SHTF survival moment, despite not being in 'Immenent risk of death'
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I agree with Spencer. The word 'imminent' is the key word. I think that the term be 'greater risk of death'. I have been in a few situations where there was a risk of death. was it a great risk? Even that term is open to interpretation. Everyone has their own set of risk factors. I was once snorkeling in the Philippines and, suddenly, was surrounded by sharks. On the surface, when I tell people that they freak out and wonder how I could have survived. Then I tell them that they 2 - 3 foot nurse sharks. Fully grown nurse sharks don't, usually, attack people and these were only younglings. My point is that determining your risk of death is completely open to your own interpretation.
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