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Comment by remlov | Hacker News Reader

Try days, not months. Especially in densely populated areas.

You do realize humanity has had countless famines before right? I grant you, a few of them brought out a regrettable side of humanity but by and large people come together during times of hardship, they don't tear each other apart. I feel like only those who've never felt hunger could contemplate such a savage reaction.

It's an understatement to say that only "a few" famines have brought out a regrettable side of humanity. The situation is very similar to a war. Remember that the rate of violent death was much higher before agriculture and farming were invented. A breakdown of infrastructure would bring us closer to our natural condition from those times. Accepting that doesn't require anyone to be a misanthropist or a cynic about human value.

And I hope you realize China had multiple famines with cannibalistic events as recent as 1959: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Chinese_Famine

I hope you realize that about a million people died during the Irish great famine with almost no events of cannibalism. Suggesting that it's a normal occurrence during famine is very insulting to the character of those that survived those famines while still upholding basic human decency.

Irish person here: the “almost no” is being disputed by more recent scholarship/research. And was even featured in a documentary from the national broadcaster a few years ago.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/role-of-s...

I hope you realize that these events are notable because they are unusual and not because they are the rule.

This entire thread is about preparation for the unusual, not the rule. Considering the human response to significant adversity is not out of line here.

The government has done studies showing that the vast majority of the population would be dead not long after a sustained nationwide power outage. All it takes is people missing a few meals before the fun starts.

Do you have a link to the study?

I had to dig around but I think this the one I remember. There are two other reports linked in the comments.

https://old.reddit.com/r/preppers/comments/11tblpp/found_it_...

Thanks! This is the doc I found the "90 percent of our population is dead" quote from, which is asserted indirectly:

https://irp.fas.org/congress/2008_hr/emp.pdf

It's referring to a fictional story in that quote, but the scientist says that 90% is accurate for the real world if that scenario were to happen. Pretty chilling.

This is an interesting read. I noticed also that Roscoe Bartlett, the rep running that hearing, moved entirely off the grid after retirement.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roscoe_Bartlett#Personal_life

He was born in 1926, he grew up "of the grid" and likely spent most of his early life mostly off grid.

It's not especially noteworthy .. to those of us that also grew up away from large connected services - you have your own sewerage, generators, mail, drive | walk to town to pick things up.

Currently I'm "mostly" off grid - I have internet connection, a well, leach drains, solar + wind (electric) + wind (mechanical mill), etc and live in a rural community with a lot of people older than 60 who also grew up off grid.

> Their cabin lacks electricity, phone service, and municipal plumbing. Bartlett currently works as a senior consultant for Lineage Technologies, a cyber security group that seeks to protect supply chains.[39] Bartlett is a vegetarian and does not drink alcohol or smoke. He also grows his own organic vegetables.

Reads more like a self-written personal home page than an encyclopedia entry produced by independent volunteers.

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