Bear Grylls Injured After Antarctic Fall

[Mouldy Punk]

This thread's ignorance is quite depressing.

To whoever it was saying that it's all instinct & common sense;

Yes, back in the stone age, they survived without Bear Grylls' TV show. Reason being, they worked out what trees had poisonous fruit through trial and error, learnt from other people's mistakes and spread the word. If you're stuck in the desert on your own, you can't just experiment with trial and error - because you only get 1 chance. We no longer live out in the wilderness, so we don't learn from other people's mistakes either - unless we're told of them - which is essentially, what Bear Grylls is doing. When he says "Don't eat this, it will kill you" he's really saying "Other people have tried eating this and have died" - something that he may not have witnessed, and you will not have witnessed, but it's valuable information nonetheless.

Is it common sense or instinct to know that Elephants are very territorial, so if you're near them, stay down wind so they don't know you're there? Hell no is that instinct. Again, the only way to find out is trial and error. Getting it wrong will have a bunch of elephants trampling on you.

Is it instinct to know that when making a fire to sleep next to in a desert to have a flat rock behind you with the fire in front of you so that the heat reflects back onto you? No. You might be able to figure that out from prior knowledge, but would you necessarily think of it if you were starving, dehydrating and alone in the middle of a desert - heck, you might not even know deserts get really cold at night.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Common sense is I need to eat if I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere. I'm going to look for food any way I can. What else am I going to do, sit around and make sand castles?

No not everyone has the same knowledge, but I'd hope everyone knows they need food and water and will try a lot of different ideas where to find it! I never said people will go straight to the source of them, it's obviously going to be a learning experience if it ever happened.

And yes I'm summarising the show because I don't want to fill the topic with walls of text!

Well, you'll probably be dead :laugh:

Guess you forgot all those parts of the shows that introduce you to how much of the wild plant population is poisonous/can kill. Even insects at that, many need parts of their bodies removed before eating. And many of them are just plain and simply dangerous alive, and need to be killed tactfully. Then if you are bitten/infected, do you even have a scooby what's wrong with you, or how to increase how long you'll live?

Common sense and instinct can kill you, like I said earlier. Knowlegde is needed in many cases to aid instinct.

And I'm sure many people will go finding these key things needed for survival, but the point in the show is to show you how to quickly find them, and even find them in places your eyes tell you there's nothing.

Then when you do find them, often Grylls tells you how to ration properly, when it's best to eat/drink, etc.

Again you're assuming I said I know more than him? I never did that at all. I said a lot of it is common sense. I said his show was a fraud because he doesn't present the 100% truth what he does when filming.

The point of the shows is to pass on knowledge, quite frankly why does it matter if he didn't actually sleep outside. Is that the most important part of the show to you?

And yes I'm summarising the show because I don't want to fill the topic with walls of text!

Well try to summarise the show more efficiently.

This thread's ignorance is quite depressing.

To whoever it was saying that it's all instinct & common sense;

Yes, back in the stone age, they survived without Bear Grylls' TV show. Reason being, they worked out what trees had poisonous fruit through trial and error, learnt from other people's mistakes and spread the word. If you're stuck in the desert on your own, you can't just experiment with trial and error - because you only get 1 chance. We no longer live out in the wilderness, so we don't learn from other people's mistakes either - unless we're told of them - which is essentially, what Bear Grylls is doing. When he says "Don't eat this, it will kill you" he's really saying "Other people have tried eating this and have died" - something that he may not have witnessed, and you will not have witnessed, but it's valuable information nonetheless.

Is it common sense or instinct to know that Elephants are very territorial, so if you're near them, stay down wind so they don't know you're there? Hell no is that instinct. Again, the only way to find out is trial and error. Getting it wrong will have a bunch of elephants trampling on you.

Is it instinct to know that when making a fire to sleep next to in a desert to have a flat rock behind you with the fire in front of you so that the heat reflects back onto you? No. You might be able to figure that out from prior knowledge, but would you necessarily think of it if you were starving, dehydrating and alone in the middle of a desert - heck, you might not even know deserts get really cold at night.

Well said, I forgot how "trial and error" isn't something you can really play around with.

One mistake, and you'll probably end up dead, or with your chances of survival severely impacted.

The point in many of these scenarios isn't always to survive long enough till you "walk your way home", many times it's sadly about just trying to survive as long as possible in the hope you'll be found. The longer you're out there, the lower your chances keep getting. So you need to learn to be efficient, you need to know when to eat, you need to know a lot about your bodys limits, what it can/can't do, etc. It's not just about finding food/water.

I appreciate hearing about how you can turn pee into water or how it can help against sunburn, etc. I'll probably never need to use any of this, but it's the educational element that's interesting, and to know many of these technics have been born from trial and error and have saved lives.

Edited December 7, 2008 by Audioboxer

[Shadow Dragon]

I think I'm gonna be a nice guy here and end the argument between Audioboxer and DrunknMunky:

@DrunknMunky:

No one is saying that you'll die without the show, all they are saying is that Grylls gives many useful tips on how to survive in extreme situations, which could raise your chances of survival should you end up in a similar situation.

And of course maybe some of what he says/does is "common sense" (for some people), but I can guarantee you that it's not all something you can just get from "instincts" so the show is definitely educational for ordinary people.

@Audioboxer:

You've made your point very clearly, so if anyone doesn't get it now then it's because they lack a certain amount of mental capacity, and not because of you (so no need to waste more time on lengthy replies ;))

[fix-this!]

His show is not gonna save your life.

none of those survival shows will save your life because you wont remember what they showed you anyways. the situations he shows more than likely would NEVER happen in real life. i actually prefer the survival man show, at least he is totally by himself with no camera crew.

[shakey_snake]

This guiy can eat **** for all that I care...

...oh wait:

[fix-this!]

This guiy can eat **** for all that I care...

...oh wait:

he drank his own urine before, the guy is a sicko and if i was his wife i would never kiss him again. :|

[.KICK]

I remember one episode when he went and captured this sea slug, gutted it, saying it was good to eat, it looked like he was eating rubber! LOL He really is boring and like people have said, I find him a bit fake. But an injury isn't good.

[fix-this!]

Survivorman is more realistic.

+1000 and it is a better show, with no camera crew with him.

[mattmatik]

Wow, what a bunch of grumps in this thread. The guy was doing this for research as well as to raise money for children's charity and all you guys can do is go back and forth about what is real and what isn't on TV. Hell, if Survivorman wasn't edited we'd be watching a 24-hour live feed. IT'S ALL EDITED. It's entertainment.

Hope he recovers to good health. We still need those who go out and explore the world for those who sit on the computer and argue.

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

AB, we're going around in circles here.

God help some of you if you are ever stranded in such locations, or even less life threatening places. I know I wouldn't wanna be stuck with the worst survivors mankind has yet to see!

[fix-this!]

IT'S ALL EDITED. It's entertainment.

all tv shows are edited now a days for fake drama, i hate reality tv.

[Rappy Veteran]

I need to watch some of that survivorman, but I will probably end up watching the new series of Bear Grylls :p

[former1]

Wow there's really high levels of ignorance in this thread I'm amazed :o some people are to used to their home comforts! If you go out into the wilderness to 'get food' is not as easy as it seems. First you need to know how to make snares, traps or honey pots for animals if you're going to eat them, even then an animal doesn't just come bounding a long because you've set a trap. It really can take days before you capture an animal.

So before then you generally have to eat any shrubbery around you and conserve your energy as much as possible. Such who knows from these plants which are poisonous, and which aren't?

There are thousands of plants out in the wilderness and how are you to know which are and aren't poisonous to yourself? Even some grass is poisonous to humans and can cause severe rashes, vomiting and fever. In order to survive in the wild you require knowledge, from a teacher. Bear Grylls is just that a teacher.

I don't expect a survival instructor to sleep outside 365 days of the year whilst teaching survival skills because it's his job to educate to say that he's a fraud is utterly ridiculous. The show is educational, and it's also meant to be entertaining. It meets all those criteria in my eyes, and why purposfuly put yourself in those conditions?

Unless you go out with a group of people into the wilderness to teach survival there is no need to stay in it.

I would love to see those who think otherwise out there on a survival course, I've done plenty with my career and I can tell you that it's the most horrible situation to be in when you have no clue as to what you can or can't eat, can or can't do.

Whilst some may argue that survival is improvisation and adapting to your environment yes it is, but you also require a basic skill set to obtain that ingenuity and shows like Bears give you that skill set. (NB I'm not saying thats it you've watched it out you go into the wilderness now! But it gives you a basic idea)

---

Anyways I hope he recovers soon, the injury sounds horrible!

[fix-this!]

I need to watch some of that survivorman, but I will probably end up watching the new series of Bear Grylls :p

whats the name of his new show again ?

Wow there's really high levels of ignorance in this thread I'm amazed :o some people are to used to their home comforts! If you go out into the wilderness to 'get food' is not as easy as it seems. First you need to know how to make snares, traps or honey pots for animals if you're going to eat them, even then an animal doesn't just come bounding a long because you've set a trap. It really can take days before you capture an animal.

So before then you generally have to eat any shrubbery around you and conserve your energy as much as possible. Such who knows from these plants which are poisonous, and which aren't?

There are thousands of plants out in the wilderness and how are you to know which are and aren't poisonous to yourself? Even some grass is poisonous to humans and can cause severe rashes, vomiting and fever. In order to survive in the wild you require knowledge, from a teacher. Bear Grylls is just that a teacher.

I don't expect a survival instructor to sleep outside 365 days of the year whilst teaching survival skills because it's his job to educate to say that he's a fraud is utterly ridiculous. The show is educational, and it's also meant to be entertaining. It meets all those criteria in my eyes, and why purposfuly put yourself in those conditions?

Unless you go out with a group of people into the wilderness to teach survival there is no need to stay in it.

I would love to see those who think otherwise out there on a survival course, I've done plenty with my career and I can tell you that it's the most horrible situation to be in when you have no clue as to what you can or can't eat, can or can't do.

Whilst some may argue that survival is improvisation and adapting to your environment yes it is, but you also require a basic skill set to obtain that ingenuity and shows like Bears give you that skill set. (NB I'm not saying thats it you've watched it out you go into the wilderness now! But it gives you a basic idea)

---

Anyways I hope he recovers soon, the injury sounds horrible!

i know not to eat anything with 4 leaves. come on man, no one will remember what he showed you anyways.

[markwolfe Veteran]

lol, bear grylls. Such a fraud.

If he were "such a fraud", his stuntman would have been the one injured. :p

[Rappy Veteran]

whats the name of his new show again ?

Don't know theres no title yet it seems.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Wow there's really high levels of ignorance in this thread I'm amazed :o some people are to used to their home comforts! If you go out into the wilderness to 'get food' is not as easy as it seems. First you need to know how to make snares, traps or honey pots for animals if you're going to eat them, even then an animal doesn't just come bounding a long because you've set a trap. It really can take days before you capture an animal.

So before then you generally have to eat any shrubbery around you and conserve your energy as much as possible. Such who knows from these plants which are poisonous, and which aren't?

There are thousands of plants out in the wilderness and how are you to know which are and aren't poisonous to yourself? Even some grass is poisonous to humans and can cause severe rashes, vomiting and fever. In order to survive in the wild you require knowledge, from a teacher. Bear Grylls is just that a teacher.

I don't expect a survival instructor to sleep outside 365 days of the year whilst teaching survival skills because it's his job to educate to say that he's a fraud is utterly ridiculous. The show is educational, and it's also meant to be entertaining. It meets all those criteria in my eyes, and why purposfuly put yourself in those conditions?

Unless you go out with a group of people into the wilderness to teach survival there is no need to stay in it.

I would love to see those who think otherwise out there on a survival course, I've done plenty with my career and I can tell you that it's the most horrible situation to be in when you have no clue as to what you can or can't eat, can or can't do.

Whilst some may argue that survival is improvisation and adapting to your environment yes it is, but you also require a basic skill set to obtain that ingenuity and shows like Bears give you that skill set. (NB I'm not saying thats it you've watched it out you go into the wilderness now! But it gives you a basic idea)

---

Anyways I hope he recovers soon, the injury sounds horrible!

Well said, much more elegantly than me :laugh: (Y)

[Nicholas-c Veteran]

i like his show but im pretty sure behind the camera there is 5/6 others with food/water/first aid kits/etc

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

i know not to eat anything with 4 leaves. come on man, no one will remember what he showed you anyways.

Actually if you were to be put in a situation he described to you, it's possible to recall things through imagery/seeing the plant in front of you, etc.

For most of us though it's mainly just about being educated, learning and interest, not so much the actual practice of it.

However some things he's taught are general survival tactics/tips you could have a reasonable chance of coming up against depending on where later life takes you.

[fix-this!]

i like his show but im pretty sure behind the camera there is sound/camera/assistants with food/water/etc

of course there is real food, how else do you think the camera crew eat ? id love to see how many takes it took for him to down some of that crap he eats and drinks without puking it up. that's why i like survival man better, at least when he ate something that made him puke, they showed it.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

i like his show but im pretty sure behind the camera there is 5/6 others with food/water/first aid kits/etc

No doubt, but as Mi6 said, it's about educating, not actually about Grylls dieing/being badly injured.

Even in the scenarios with snakes, etc, of course there's going to be vaccine near by.

[Angelic Marge]

So before then you generally have to eat any shrubbery around you and conserve your energy as much as possible. Such who knows from these plants which are poisonous, and which aren't?

There are thousands of plants out in the wilderness and how are you to know which are and aren't poisonous to yourself? Even some grass is poisonous to humans and can cause severe rashes, vomiting and fever. In order to survive in the wild you require knowledge, from a teacher. Bear Grylls is just that a teacher.

A book can tell me that and more.

[fix-this!]

i do hope the guy gets better soon but he does some stupid stuff too, can you imagine how much life insurance he must have on himself ? :wacko:

title

"crazy man" :rofl:

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

A book can tell me that and more.

That's your passage to education then.

Some people prefer visual/spoken, and of course when talking about some of the things he does, obviously some people prefer the constructed scenarios - It's entertaining, more so than reading a book on deadly plants, unless that is your interest.

Because I doubt I'll find myself stranded in a jungle needing to eat plants, I enjoy watching the show and I do get educated at the same time over reading strictly educational only material - Like books. That however doesn't make the guy any less intelligent about what he's talking about.

Don't think MI6 meant Grylls is the only person who can teach you that, his comments are more aimed at all the people calling him a fraud as a passage to education.

[shakey]

Real or not, he does more than most any other person would do. He has the training, so no point in actually putting his life on the line for tv. call him a fraud all you want, but hes not stupid. Only stupid people put their lives on the line for TV. If you want that kind of tv, please, start making your own show.