- Messages
- 17,471
- Reactions
- 36,483
Your kit should be a simple as possible, and no simpler.
Ol' Remus
Top item
<broken link removed>
Ol' Remus
Top item
<broken link removed>
More at the <broken link removed>Every seasoned engineer adores simplicity. Where there is no failure mode, there is no failure. Complexity is, in itself, even while just sitting there being agreeable, an enemy in waiting.
Simplicity and versatility are nearly the same thing. Consider the knife, for instance. Consider cordage. Simple and versatile. As Heinlein said, specialization is for insects. When something is made complex, tradeoffs must be made, which forecloses or reduces options. Follow this far enough and the item becomes so specialized it's useless for anything other than one narrow purpose.
Simplicity improves nearly anything. A spear, perhaps cut from a straight sapling, sharpened and fire hardened, appears to be a single-use tool, but it's also a walking stick, a test probe for iffy ground, a cudgel, an aid in crossing fast-running water and more. The GPS system may go down, or your receiver may, but a compass is always reliable. Simple recipes using few ingredients, the best use of your resources and storage space, can be used as-is or altered with additives of opportunity.
Your battle rifle deserves the simplicity treatment. It can be optimized for only one thing and that thing should be gunfights at medium range. Fit it with a low power, wide field scope that can survive the jackhammer test, backed up by iron sights you've zeroed-in and practiced using. Put together a rifle for precision work at long range if you must, don't compromise your battle rifle, it should be simple, absolutely reliable, and never need batteries.
