[Basic] Skill of the week: Fishing, Survival and Urban Survival

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Þorkell

I did. The first thing I saw is that Farming is a TL skill while Fishing isn't. Second, Farming is an IQ/Average skill while Fishing is Per/Easy.

It seems important that it's a Per skill. That is, the key ability is the ability to judge where the fish are. Kipling portrays that in Captains Courageous, with the fishing boat owner who's good at that—and wants to get to fishing grounds secretly so that all the other boats don't follow him, as they will, because their captains know who's good at finding fish.

The use-of-tools aspect seems rather less important.

[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by whswhs

It seems important that it's a Per skill. That is, the key ability is the ability to judge where the fish are.

It's also detecting when you've got one ready to hook if you're fishing in pool with just nibblers.

[Þorkell]

Originally Posted by whswhs

It seems important that it's a Per skill. That is, the key ability is the ability to judge where the fish are. Kipling portrays that in Captains Courageous, with the fishing boat owner who's good at that—and wants to get to fishing grounds secretly so that all the other boats don't follow him, as they will, because their captains know who's good at finding fish.

Seems to me that knowing where to fish is a IQ skill or roll. I'm also pretty sure that fish move in a predictable way so that they're in roughly the same place each March, April, or May etc.

Also is Fishing is supposed to be the nautical equal to Farming, shouldn't the skills be equally difficult?

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Þorkell

Seems to me that knowing where to fish is a IQ skill or roll. I'm also pretty sure that fish move in a predictable way so that they're in roughly the same place each March, April, or May etc.

Also is Fishing is supposed to be the nautical equal to Farming, shouldn't the skills be equally difficult?

They are only equiv in the sense that the yield is large enough to be a viable competitor to cereal. Otherwise it is a type of hunter-gathering.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

They are only equiv in the sense that the yield is large enough to be a viable competitor to cereal. Otherwise it is a type of hunter-gathering.

Tim Irwin; Fish hunter?
I hate how humans get that cool unique name when every other animal that feeds that way is simply called an opportunistic omnivore.
Farming is almost the definition of technology. You can define a society by how it feeds its peoples and it changes so much each TL.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

Tim Irwin; Fish hunter?
I hate how humans get that cool unique name when every other animal that feeds that way is simply called an opportunistic omnivore.

Because fishing is the only form of hunter-gathering that is widely practiced among high Tl societies to the degree where it is competitive with other forms of food production. Agriculture and pastoralism are the most common ways for humans to get their food. While it is true that all animals engage in it humans for the most part do not.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

Farming is almost the definition of technology. You can define a society by how it feeds its peoples and it changes so much each TL.

It is at least the main way to allow a surplus that can viably be expended on artisanship and therefore is the father of technology.

[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by Þorkell

Seems to me that knowing where to fish is a IQ skill or roll. I'm also pretty sure that fish move in a predictable way so that they're in roughly the same place each March, April, or May etc.

Not so. At least with rivers and lake beds the topography changes all the time (generally), so it's also a matter of looking for the visual cues to know where the deep spots/calm spots/fish hiding spots are.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by evileeyore

Not so. At least with rivers and lake beds the topography changes all the time (generally), so it's also a matter of looking for the visual cues to know where the deep spots/calm spots/fish hiding spots are.

Disko Troop has to allow for Grand Banks currents, salinity, and other such things. It is also shallow enough in places for topography to matter. On at least one occasion they were told to cast a lead, and Troop's son told Harvey that what he really mainly wanted was bottom samples.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

Because fishing is the only form of hunter-gathering that is widely practiced among high Tl societies to the degree where it is competitive with other forms of food production. Agriculture and pastoralism are the most common ways for humans to get their food. While it is true that all animals engage in it humans for the most part do not.

The most common ways for the last thousand years or so, barely a drop in the bucket when compared to humanity's entire existence of 60 to 200+ millennia.

We shovel in every easily digestible material on earth, and process the rest to be easier on our modified herbivores' systems. Like pigs but with cooking technology really.