@namelus,
I read a study that showed most adults see themselves as they did at their prime. Like the high school football jock, who 20 years later is over wight, balding, but still walks and talks like back when he was a teenager.
Dont get me wrong, time waits for no one, and I am not under the delusion I will ever run a 18:05 3-mile run again.
But do the best I can.
Lots of guys think they are the next American Sniper. They go to the range, shoot paper, at 100yrds, sitting at a concrete bench, off a lead sled and slap themselves on the back.
Now, there are a few guys shooting long range, but with help from a wind meter, and a ballistic app.
I have to disagree with you to a degree about reading a book to learn a skill. I have learned many skills via books. Now, was I an expert after one reading? Nope! Lots of trial and error or just going through the motions more than a few times I gained the knowledge and experience.
But I agree with you that just reading it once, and thinking you are an expert, and will suffice post-SHTF is not real. Bad time for OJT too.
I have known more than a few preppers who only plan for a SHTF situation to last a year. And they dont believe that things will get so bad they will be required to grow anything.
Could the next economic crisis be like the Great Depression where things are still working, there still is social order?
Sure.
But I would not bet on it.
Not in this day and age.