I’m sure some of you have read of Ishi of the Yahi tribe, the “last wild Indian” in California. He spend his life hiding in the hills until the last of his family died. Ishi finally gave up and walked into the lowlands, expecting to be killed. Instead he was shipped to San Francisco and given to the care of an anthropologist named Alfred Kroeber. (Alfred and Theodora Kroeber had a child that science fiction readers may recognize—Ursula Le Guin. Traces of her anthropological home life are all over her stories.)

One thing Kroeber learned from Ishi was how to start a fire. IIRC Ishi taught him the fire drill method, spinning the drill by hand, not with a fire bow. Under Ishi’s careful tutelage, Kroeber learned to start a fire by rubbing sticks together. He took his new knowledge to school with him. He told a class of anthropology students that he expected them to learn to start a fire old school. In fact, any of them who failed at the task could not expect a passing grade. Then Alfred demonstrated. And demonstrated. And demonstrated. Without Ishi there to help him, he couldn’t get a fire started for the life of him.

The moral is, practice. Practice before your life—or your dignity—is on the line.