The earth does slow in all of its motions because of quantum effects that generate "friction" between matter and space (basically enough to generate heat equivalent to heating a cup fo coffee constantly, or maybe once a year, can't remember the exact details of the calculations). I read this somewhere in a book, maybe Hawkings, definitely modern cosmology written for the masses. Its related to frame dragging in G.R.

I'd buy an AWP & go sniping noobs. IRL

If you're going to leave it all behind, you have to use bows and arrows or spears that you made from the materials at hand.

Dennis;

I actually did it, almost exactly as described in the opening paragraphs of your post, 17 years ago. It has been interesting, can't complain.

Thanks for sharing that story. I would not take any drugs with me in my case though as tripping isn't one of my goals. I wonder though if it wouldn't all become quite boring soon without much stimulation for the mind (in whatever form of entertainment). If the goal is long term self sustainment in the wilderness without going back to a normal life, drugs, alcohol and whatnot would not be an option because it's probably impossible to create these things yourself without the required knowledge about the necessary plants and where to find them (and you probably also need tools for that which can't be easily crafted from wood and rocks).

It is also illegal pretty much everywhere in the world because the land already belongs to someone and here in Germany even if you own some land it would still be illegal to hunt animals on it unless you are a licensed hunter (and for that you'd have to undergo several years of training and even then you would not be allowed to hunt with crude weapons like spears and bows because that would count as animal cruelty (you're supposed to kill them as quick and painless as possible and that's only possible with modern weapons)).

It is also illegal to chop down a tree (even breaking off a branch or cutting of some skin is). Walking around with a knife: also illegal for most knife types which could count as a weapon.

The only legal thing would be to eat worms, insects, plants and fruits (still technically illegal because as all land already belongs to someone, eating their plants and insects would be stealing). Would have to eat them raw though because making fire is also illegal unless it is a small campfire and you make it on your own land and while taking safety precautions.

It's difficult to write interesting stuff when slowly but steadily your interest in everything is fading away.

Yes, preparations are definitely necessary. Thanks for the detailed description of your plan, many good pointers in there.

Yeah, like I already wrote in the opening post, all this stuff would make a great setting for a game.

I'm not so sure about that. From what I hear, being a farmer is pretty much a full time job with very long hours and little to no freetime. Fishing on the other hand is always depicted as something that basically handles itself, you just need to be quiet and patient. ^^

I completely agree but for the first few weeks/months while you learn/teach yourself all that stuff about making tools from rocks/wood/plants/etc. it would be ok to bring some tools from civilization with you so you won't fail right away. You'd have to bring sturdy long lasting clothes too because it's quite unrealistic to expect being able to craft clothes right away (or ever). If you're lucky you die from poison or some sickness before your initial clothes start to fall apart so you would not even run into the situation where you'd be forced to make your own.

Well... seems you failed though because you're here. :\
What equipment did you take with you when you left? Where did you go? What did you eat? How many years have you spent in the wilderness and why did you come back?

I could not fake interest in any religion sufficiently well enough to be able to live in a monastery. I would also feel bad for pretending to the others that I'm one of them.

...

Meanwhile, I looked at some backpacks, did some reading about edible plants and insects (all of which should be cooked or fried and never be eaten raw for health reasons).
I'm not going to rush things and will start with something easy: take a day off of the internet and not use any electronic devices, so next Monday I'll start the day staring blankly out of the window until I'm bored enough to do something else

Where do I obtain a year's worth of LSD?

No, my aim was not to live in the wilderness or become a neo-hunter/gatherer of sorts. My apologies if your "hypothesis" was really that specific, which would make my impulsive emigration non-applicable. I was a bit tired when I first read your post, and I mistook it as accepting alternate cases of a complete and sudden break in trajectory.

Notwithstanding, however, I did live for six months in the cloud forests on the western slopes of the Andes, in a wooden cabin on stilts next to a river, in a completely out of the way "settlement" (if it could even be referred to as that, then) called Mindo. That was when I first moved away from England. It is not like it was, anymore.

To tell you the truth, that time was enough to recollect my thoughts after the gloomy despondency that had clouded into my mind in England. I knew which way things were going there. It had not been good, but it WAS beginning to look a little better for the future. Still, I had had enough already. So I left, just like that, and arrived in Ecuador with a little over 60 dollars of equivalent currency, after all the expenditures of the trip. Things were not any easier for a good while, but I am still in Ecuador, and I am glad I did it.

So yes, getting away from everything you once knew has its merits. Believe me, a cultural change is as big a challenge as what you propose. I am not really going into any details; it is your thread, and my story has not really got a place on it. Suffice to say the following, whatever you are thinking of or considering: Perhaps it is better to get this far knowing what you would have been, rather than to exist in a sort of limbo wondering what you might have been. In the end, however, you cannot get away from yourself.

And that has already been too many words from me.

While actions like cutting down trees are also illegal here in Canada (AFAIK, eating bugs/wild vegetation/animals is not), it would easily overlooked. Here we have massive stretches of land that are unoccupied. We are the second largest land mass, but we're not even in the top 200 for population density. I know of many places I could camp without being bothered.

Aside from that, Canada also has a "free man of the land" provision allowed by some specific wording in our constitution. It is a special classification of individual that allows them to live off the land and disregard a wide array of legislation -- although they are not allowed to hold jobs or participate in any social welfare programs. They have their own communities.

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It's been a long time since I looked at that free man of the land stuff. It was a very interesting thing to me when I found it years ago, but now it seems like a sort of cult. Not that I don't agree with a great deal of what they say and what they stand for, but some of that CBC stuff they have on their homepage is pretty nuts.

But then you'd have to eat leaves and bamboo, and engage in gorilla warfare!

Uh, bullshit. You can cut down whatever you like on your own property, so long as you haven't agreed to some stupid stuff with your community association or something. Or your city has some retarded bylaws. But if you have an acreage or farm? do as you please.

No prob

I think he just forgot a few people when handing out cookies.

I've read that hunter/gatherers spend less time doing that than industrialized people spend on the job. OTOH, a drought can make 100% search time insufficient. That's why grain farming caught on, to put aside some reserves.

You could have permission. Also I think there are cases where you can just sit on some land for a while, and it becomes yours