Survivor Meets Junkyard Wars for Scientists

MyNameIsFred writes "Stepping back to Gilligan's Island, PBS has a new "reality" show Rough Science where "five scientists are challenged to put their collective scientific knowledge to practical use. Transported to isolated locations, they are presented with a series of tasks, with two notable restrictions: they must complete their work within three days and, with the exception of a rudimentary tool kit, must use only indigenous materials." Could the Professor really build all of those things? We'll soon know." Check out the Episode guide.

Comments

How about survive and escape?

[bbuda]

Why not take the 'Gilligan's Island' concept to it's logical conclusion: put the scientists on a remote island, not knowing their location or how much ocean surrounds them, with no supplies, and leave them there (with a camera crew of course). The scientists would have two challenges: survive off rudimentary supplies and the island's natural resources, and eventually escape to the mainland. The first scientific team to find their way to a major city wins. Of course, you could add in interesting challenges along the way such as those in this show or in Survivor, where the scientists could complete some useful task (dye a flag, as mentioned in the episode guide) in return for a tool or supply. THAT I would watch.

Re:How about survive and escape?

[Blkdeath]

Of course, you could add in interesting challenges along the way such as those in this show or in Survivor, where the scientists could complete some useful task (dye a flag, as mentioned in the episode guide) in return for a tool or supply. THAT I would watch.

That's when I'd promptly change the channel and watch instead a mind-numbing sitcom. Atleast they're more honest than "Reality Television" about what they are.

The idea of a realistic situation like the above is to remove external intervention from the picture altogether. If you're actually stranded on a desert island, you don't get the opportunity to win a hammer - you have to strap a rock to a stick. You're not able to win an 8" sheath knife, you have to scratch a rock into a jagged and/or sharp edge.

I can't recall whom, or on what channel it was featured (I believe it was Discovery) a scientist (outdoor survivalist was, I believe, his actual trade) stranded himself in the bush - dropped his snowmobile (intentionally!) through thin ice out in the wild - miles from any civilization, and with only the most basic set of gear (the things a snowmobiler would typically carry with them, no fancy survival kits) and, of course, a camera (which, I believe, was dropped in advance, I forget how it was situated).

He started out his adventure soaked to the skin, cold, and without food (except for some energy bars he'd brought with him for the trip. Five of them, I believe. "Trail Snacks"). Being early afternoon, he had only a short time to locate a suitable area, build a shelter, start a fire, dry himself off, and find a source of food in the process (being cold and wet come nightfall with two feet of snow on the ground and more coming is a very bad thing<tm>).

He set up complicated camera shots by himself, for example; camera atop a mountain, run down mountain, walk across a field in camera's view, run back up mountain, stop camera (this brought an amusing anecdote where he set up the camera, ran down the mountain, looked up to see the camera tilting forward, forward, forward... thud!)

He used, and tested several survival techniques that he teaches in an outdoor survival course, for example setting up four smoke-signal fires on the extremeties of a cross which he walked into the snow in a large open area. At the end, he determined that it was too much hassle to run back and forth between each of them to light and maintain all the fires. He decided instead to go with a walked-in cross (or X, depending on how you look at it) with pillars at each corner and a single (large) signal fire at one extremity.

All in all, he was in the bush for a little over a week and managed to make himself a cozy living arrangement, including various meat and fish meals at dinner time. Some nights, of course, his fishing instrument didn't work so he didn't eat anything but berries.

To make a long story even longer {smile} - that is what reality television, IMHO, should be. No challenges, no assistance, no winning tools or champagne, no medical crew standing by to assist as soon as the going gets tough - just (an) individual(s) and (his/their) smarts to get through the situation. Camera crew optional.

Re:My prediction....

[praedictus]

>>Scientists weren't designed to survive outside of a lab. =]

Hrmff! Obviously someone who hasn't done any REAL (ie. non-theoretical) science. As part of my work I have:
Slept in a snowbank (ambient temp -30C)

Scaled ice covered rock faces with 30 kilos of equipment

Faced bears and wolves unarmed. Mind you most predators only attack if you act like prey, and the wolves were mostly interested in having fun, like 50 kilo puppies with big teeth...

Hiked alone in the Amazon rain forest.

Not all scientists are wimps, some of us actually get out once and a while. When something breaks in bush camp, you fix it yourself, with what you have on hand. If you fsck up bad, you might die, so you learn to adapt.

Re:My prediction....

[Blkdeath]

Slept in a snowbank (ambient temp -30C)

As someone else who's slept in a snowbank (on purpose!), sorry, but no dice on that one. :)

Snow is an excellent insulator. Consequently, if you burrow yourself a hole in which to sleep you can find yourself quite warm indeed. It's only when you contact the raw snow with your body, thus melting it and wetting your clothes that you get cold.

The heat from even the smallest of fires can heat up the interior of a snow-dwelling to quite a comfortable temperature (just be sure to poke a smoke hole in the top).

The best way to get a boy scout over his fear of snow is to hand him a portable (folding) shovel and tell him to make a home in it for a night or two.

Real surviving

[rjamestaylor]

No kidding. Did you see the real-life survivor story this week about the Long Beach, CA man sailing his small sailboat to Catalina Island (truly a "three hour tour") but a storm rose and rendered his ship uncontrollable? He drifted for 3 1/2 months living on sea turtles, birds and fish until a San Diego-based warship found him near the coast of Costa Rica. He was healthy, though thinner, and even knew where he was and what the date was. Oh, did I mention he's 62 years old?

Sure, he's a moron for not filing a cruise plan (er, the boating equivalent of a flight plan...whatever it's called) with the Coast Guard (but then, who really wants to voluntarily tell the gov't their every move?), or telling friends where he was going and when he'd be back...but he was a true survivor.

And,. although he was very happy to see the US warship, he wasn't looking for a free ride home: he asked them to repair his mast and he would sail home on his own. That's freakin' impressive.

• (I may have munged some of te details of the story, but that's why I linked to news.google.com, an awsome resource, for you to follow and be cleansed of my gross inaccuracies.)

Re:He's a crap sailor...

[rjamestaylor]

I'm in Southern California and have read and heard a lot of comments from seasoned sailors regarding Van Pham's plight. Nothing I've heard criticized him for failing to control his vessel--only failing to coordinate with others his sailing plans. Yes, these sailors may just be deciding to politely avoid embarrassing the gentleman for spending "alot more time seeing how much he could eat than getting his ass back to land," but it is more likely that you're just being hypercritical. Or, perhaps, you have special insight into sailing with damaged vessels... In any regard, you come off a tad bit insulting and arrogant.