• Preparedness + Bushcraft = True(?)

    Preparedness + Bushcraft = True(?)

    From doomsday dismissals to a preparedness revolution – the new frontier isn’t just about gadgets, but the ancient wisdom of survival skills.


In short:

  • When wolves became man’s best friend

    I think we can all agree on that man’s best friend – the dog – can trace its ancestry back to the wolves. How this came to be is a completely different story that researchers haven’t entirely come to agree on. Was it humans or wolves that took the first s

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    When wolves became man’s best friend

    I think we can all agree on that man’s best friend – the dog – can trace its ancestry back to the wolves. How this came to be is a completely different story that researchers haven’t entirely come to agree on. Was it humans or wolves that took the first step into the interspecies relationship?

    Timeline

    Today’s dogs have wandered quite far from their original form in the wolf. Even today’s wolves have to some extent devolved into a smaller version of their once larger statures. We’re not entirely certain when this process actually began, but some estimates say it started between 20,000 to 40,000 years ago in Europe and Asia. Studies also suggest that this might have happened in different geographical locations.

    Leading theories

    The Self-Domestication Theory suggests that at some point wolves began to scavange near human settlements, attracted to the delicious remains of hunting trophys. Over time, the wolves who wandered further into the presence of man in his camps were rewarded with more spoils, warmth from the campfire, and a true bond of friendship.

    Another theory, Directed Domestication Theory, suggest that the friendship wasn’t mutual but that early humans captured wolf pups and raised them as their own. They were then selectively breeded for desirable traits.

    Whether one subscribes to the theory of mutual benefit or that it was a forced relationship, we can all probably agree that it has been a good one at that!

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    2024-05-22 11:12 | 0 comments

  • Using AI to talk to whales

    Recently OpenAI released a much improved version of their LLM, called ChatGPT-4o. The main focus seem to have been on language and conversation, where it answers significantly faster, in any language, and with more “human” emotions in speech, text…

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    Using AI to talk to whales

    Recently OpenAI released a much improved version of their LLM, called ChatGPT-4o. The main focus seem to have been on language and conversation, where it answers significantly faster, in any language, and with more “human” emotions in speech, text, or image. Such an improvement does pose the question where it all ends. Will we be able to translate animal speech with an app on our phones in coming updates?

    Project CETI and Earth Species Project

    Scientists working on Project CETI (Cetacean Translation Initiative) and the Earth Species Project have been working on deepening our understanding of sperm whale language and communication. To this end, they’ve used AI tools in which they’ve created a LLM (Large Language Model) with vast amounts of data on whale talk. The goal is to be able to understand the language of the whales and even to reply to them.

    Whale communication

    Sperm whales apparently have a very complex communication system with sequences of clicks (called codas), of which the researchers have identified several distinct sequences, believed to function like an alphabet. Their language and “way of speaking” also isn’t random, but very dependant on the context of their interaction.

    Conclusion

    If we can learn how to communicate with sperm whales, there’s no reason to believe we cannot learn to communicate with other animals. Or plants and fungi, for that matter.

    The interesting question here is, whether this will open up to new kinds of deeper knowledge about our environment.

    Will we be able to continue to eat animals that we can communicate “meaningfully” with? What does your cat really think of you? Do you really want to know what the crows and seagulls are screaming about?

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    2024-05-20 11:44 | 0 comments

  • Birbs are stealing anti-bird spikes and building nests from them

    Birbs are becoming ungovernable! They’re using our own weapons agains us, building their own gated communities.

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    Birbs are stealing anti-bird spikes and building nests from them

    Birbs are becoming ungovernable! They’re using our own weapons agains us, building their own gated communities.

    Birds have since long been revered and viewed as having the ultimate freedom in the feat of sky-faring. Ever since man took his first stumbling steps on the savannah he’s been at awe of the avian raptor descendant slowly gliding at unimaginable heights peering down at the club-wielding grunt stuck with his two feets firmly attached to the ground.

    The airborne fowl seem to have understood this fact and have decided en-masse to simply become ungovernable. Deconstructing what humans frenetically put up to keep the soaring animals away.

    Nature always win.

    Source

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    2024-05-18 11:32 | 0 comments

Bushcraft, eh?

Bushcraft is about the art of surviving with less in nature. Surviving on nature’s conditions and at the same time minimizing the amount of gear you need.

The more you know, the less you carry.

Mors Kochanski

To practice bushcraft is essentially the same thing as practicing survival in nature, while at the same time being comfortable. Instead of trying to get back to civilization as quickly as possible, perhaps you create a small shelter with the comforts you need; a campfire, a chair, a nice bed with protection against the envorinment.

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Lookin’ for the articles in Swedish?

  • Lampor för friluftsliv: Ditt ljus i mörkret
  • Kustnära Bushcraft: Bland segelbåtar och polynesiska katamaraner

Bookshelf

Reading is good for you! We recommend that you always have a book with you in your backpack. Get a fire going, make some coffee and sit yourself down comfortably and read for a bit.

Here are some books on bushcraft and the outdoors that we believe you might be interested in (more books can be found here):

Elsewhere in the digital forest

Never trust a thought that comes to you indoors

– Friedrich W. Nietzsche

Being able to relate to your environment is an essential part of Bushcraft, be it identifying plants or different methods for catching fish and small game!

Flora

Flora contains no less than all of the plants you find in nature! All trees, bushes, and herbs, down to the smallest summer flower. In Sweden we have about 250 edible plants, of which we only use a small number in our diet. Some of the plants are even great, or even nessecary for our well-being. A couple of examples of plants are: Ledum Palustre, a plant that some people are praising for its positive effects, while some claim it’s the viagra of the forests! Rosa Dumalis is one of our most C-vitamin rich plants in Sweden. Its berries can be picked fresh of the bush during the whole of winter!

Fauna

Fauna, on the other hand, are members of the animal kingdom, of which we ourselves are actually included. However, people usually talk about the natural ecosystem in the forest, from which man has now distanced himself a bit. The wolf is a much-debated part of the natural system, but has come to compete with man in recent times.

Fungi

This category includes all mushrooms, lichens, slime mold, and more! This is a very interesting group that we learn more about on a daily basis, everything from new natural remedies for various ailments to its properties for the shamanic rites of our ancestors. Some fungi have even been observed hunting their prey with everything from poison to arrows and traps, while others are helping scientists to streamline subway systems.

Bushcraft.nu is a website about bushcraft, survival and other similar outdoor activities.


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