this post was submitted on 06 Mar 2025
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The 3 hours without shelter stat is suspect. People experiencing homelessness exist, and they go years at times without shelter.
The rest of the stats seem to be a comfortable average.
The 'withoit shelter' usually refers to extreme conditions, such as extreme heat or cold, within realistic earth conditions. Think desert, ice water.
I just appreciate that people are talking about it. Worst case, it helps them remember the other guidelines (or whatever you want to call them, I didn't make them up.)
As someone who has spent too much of their life being homeless (living in a homeless shelter ATM), shelter comes in many forms, including a sleeping bag or tent.
Without ANY protection from the elements, depending on locale, 3 hours is totally doable or problematic.
Reading your comment made me really upset man. I don't know who you are or what life has thrown at you and I hope every day you are making it by at the very least.
From one internet stranger to another I am sorry life can be shit man. I hope things look up for you.
I've spent a bit of my life "on the street" as it were. That being said, I've only slept rough for a total of two to three months so far. I hear what you're saying about being totally exposed, especially in harsh weather, but I still think that 3 hours is on the outside of the bell curve.
I guess it's dependant on clothing. 3 hours in the arctic in a hoodie? Dead. 3 hours in the desert naked? Heat stroke maybe, though enough water would keep you going while you turn into a lobster.
Yeah nevernind it's a fucking stupid rule of thumb.
This is the most unnecessary nerd comment I'll ever make on this platform.. but
I believe the bell curve wouldn't represent the expected distribution in this case. I m not entirely sure what would be the correct distribution but I suspect Chi^2 or poisson.
I was under the impression that unnecessary nerd comments were specifically what this site was for. Did I accidentally stumble back to mIRC?
Isn't that if it is below a certain temperature and you had no shelter at all such as a bench, tarp, clothing, blanket, newspapers etc?
No clue, but probably. The others are true in basically all situations, that's specifically why I'm saying that the 3 hours stat seems to be an element of the set that isn't similar to the other elements of the set.
Yeah that one is very conditional. 3 hours where? 1 second isn't survivable in some places while others you could live exposed in the open for a lifetime.
It does make sense to prioritize shelter though if you are outside particularly in the winter or summer. Something to protect from wind or sun at least. Not difficult to find and avoiding frostbite, heatstroke is a priority.
Yeah I’d guess extreme cold, or maybe even extreme hot like Death Valley heat?
Let's say we drop you in Antarctica on a windy night in the winter in jeans and a long sleeve shirt. Three hours might be about right.
Let's say we drop you in outer space. You'd survive less than 3 hours without shelter, air supplied.
Can't take an extreme for a general rule.
Depends, if you're in the shadow you'll freeze to death in some minutes and if you're in the light you'll be scorched in seconds
Do I get any of the normal equipment I carry on me? My entrenchment tool should allow me to create a makeshift igloo in that time, at least a windbreak, but if I don't have any fuel for a fire, then sure, I die. If I have any fuel for a fire, and an ignition source, then all I need is a tiny fire to warm me, and not melt my igloo. I also literally carry flint and steel on me at all times.
This scenario actually is literally against my person, who has been moving closer and closer to the equator, because it's still too cold in San Diego, CA.
On the equator I would need some sort of shade and relief from the midday sun, but at least it would always be warm enough.