Doing the Stuff Challenge

by Todd Walker

My time in academia has been a total waste. Except for this one lesson: I learned how not to learn.

What little I retained from my ‘higher’ education came by doing. For instance, in Anatomy class, we dissected human cadavers. Hands-on stuff. Real education.

Everything I learned about learning came by paying attention to masters and apprentices, being curious, following my interests, and trial-and-error. This was the atmosphere of our ancestor’s classroom, before highly ‘educated’ academics hijacked knowledge to justify their protected positions and salaries – and textbook prices. The Harvard-tower-dwellers teach theory – but are short in practice.

I call it the Tyranny of Theorizing. It’s harsh, forced, and an oppressive way to learn. The more theory exists, the less productive we become. Knowledge weighs nothing – depending on the delivery system.

Of course, the prepping community is full of lovers of knowledge. Loads of ‘good-to-know’ stuff abound on preparedness sites. But there comes a time when doing the stuff is the only remedy to information overload.

Practice -> Theory

not

Theory -> Practice

Uninhibited doers of the stuff hunger for trial-and-error. What works. What doesn’t. No matter what Theory Tyrants say.

The history of doing the stuff dates back to our earliest human ancestors. They weren’t afforded the luxury of ‘The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Surviving in the Wild.’ Cave dwellers didn’t sit and discuss the 5 best ways to make a friction fire. They learned through trying and failure.

I’d like to know who figured out how to tan a hide with the animal’s brains. Or, who first dropped a rock and thought, hum, these sharp shards could be a useful tool with a little tinkering.

I have nothing against book knowledge. I love the smell of a good book in the morning. But in the end, doing the stuff does more than prove theories – it makes theories.

Here’s your assignment if you want to play along.

Pick one new skill to practice or something to tinker with this week. It needs to be somewhat measurable. I’ve chosen friction fire with no training wheels. You don’t have to master or complete the challenge in a week. But you do have to start.

• Note: Don’t do stupid stuff. Controlled-stupid is okay. Just don’t risk blowing up your house playing mad scientist in your basement. If you pick wild food foraging as your new skill, please don’t go out and do trial and error testing on every plant you see. If you’re a complete newbie at it, get help and training. That’s controlled-stupid.
• Document to the number of trials and the errors that caused failure or success. Journal the journey. Keep an account (pics, video, or paper and pencil).
• Observe and respond to new information. Be flexible.
• Report back to Doing the Stuff Challenge Headquarters by this time next week. Honest results only. We’ll laugh with you, not at you – maybe.
• Depending on the response, I’ll post results in an upcoming blog.

Get busy doing the stuff,

Todd