The More you Know the Less you Need

I thought it would be interesting to have a discussion on the phrase: The More you Know the Less you Need. Technically, I believe this to be a true statement. As your survival skill set increases you become less reliant on gear to stay alive. Specifically I am talking about survival situations that can apply to wilderness or urban settings. Some people are good to go with a quality knife and they will do fine in most situations.

My observation is that I tend to see people who jump on the bandwagon of this phrase yet lack the requisite skill set to survive. They take pride in carrying less as if it makes them more reputable or more of a man. Almost as if their ego takes control of their frontal cortex. Essentially, this person carries less for the wrong reason. They are screaming: Look what I can do with less.

Here are my thoughts on the topic. First, lets review the phrase: The More you Know the Less you Need. The key here is the word “need” and this is where the problem begins. People are confusing “need” and “want” in relation to a survival situation. It is true that you may only need a knife but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t want to have more equipment with you to assist your survival and maybe even make you more comfortable. Lets face the reality of a survival situation. The mere fact that you are in a survival situation means that it will be difficult, challenging, uncomfortable and maybe even miserable. We can probably come up with a hundred more adjectives to describe the reality of survival. You may be injured, hungry, cold, hot or have a pre-existing medical condition which complicates your survival. In such a situation I may not need a lot of gear, but trust me, I want more gear than the minimum. For those of you who hold your head high, stick out your chest and claim less the better I think you should reconsider your philosophy on survival. I’m not talking about going out in the woods to “test yourself” with only a knife. I’m talking about reconsidering what you carry for a life or death survival situation. Remove attitude and ego from the equation and ask yourself two questions: 1) What do you NEED to survive? And 2) What would you WANT with you in addition to aid in your survival and make it easier and more comfortable? Now, lets not become stupid or sarcastic and say, “well I’ll bring a loaded RV with me!” I’m talking about gear that you carry on your person without the aid of anything that you cannot carry or are not willing to carry. Personally, I think it is foolish and irresponsible to carry only the minimum when you are capable and have room to carry some extra items. My philosophy is that I would rather have more and not need it than not have it and need it.

What are your thoughts on the topic? 

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