Eliminatus said:

---

Here are the ones provided in the video:

• Fix a toilet (basic home repair)
• Reset a circuit breaker (home electrical basics)
• Remount a bike chain
• Learn CPR and when/how to use it (first aid)
• Jump-start a car battery
• Change a flat tire
• Drive stick (manual transmission)
• Exercise/keep fit without equipment
• Understand compound interest (money basics)
• Understand basic taxes
• Sew a button (basic sewing)
• Iron a shirt
• Restart a water heater
• Ride a motorcycle
• Cook a good steak and grill a burger
• Dice an onion (basic cooking)
• Read a map
• Find north without a compass
• Start and tend a campfire
• Have a solid party trick
• Play a song on an instrument (even a simple one)
• Tell a good, long joke
• Tie useful knots (e.g., bowline, sheet bend, trucker's hitch)
• Give constructive feedback
• Give a good toast or speech
• Memorize names effectively
• Introduce two people properly
• Politely decline offers ("say no" skill)
• Put out a grease fire safely
• Dress appropriately for a wedding
• Dress appropriately for a job interview
• Dress appropriately as an adult (situational dressing)
• Talk comfortably to strangers
• Lift heavy items without injuring your back
• Disagree civilly (conflict skills)
• Accept and receive compliments graciously
• Learn how to learn new things
• Budget and manage money
• Understand when/how to find a lawyer or legal help
• Use basic hand and power tools safely
• Host people/guests comfortably
• Handle emergencies calmly & responsibly (general preparedness)

---

A couple 2 or 3 are kind of out of place or not necessary IMO. I'd almost add the "drive a stick shift" to the list since even finding a stick shift these days is getting harder and harder to do, but I still think it's a good skill to have.

I cannot play any song on any instrument.

oh no said:

---

surprised changing oil or repairing a flat tire or changing a tire aren't on there.

---

Yeah and they have party tricks, sewing, chopping onions, playing instruments, giving toasts and dressing for weddings on there.

It's like a mix of practical, basic skills mixed with how to be a gay boy.

Lots of performance cars/trucks have standard ******s still. It's not totally gone yet. But I sure miss the days of a Hurst stick with a Muncie "Rock Chucker" 4-speed. .

So you no longer can put a transmission name on TA without it being blocked. Sad.

CactusThomas said:

---

oh no said:

---

surprised changing oil or repairing a flat tire or changing a tire aren't on there.

---

Yeah and they have party tricks, sewing, chopping onions, playing instruments, giving toasts and dressing for weddings on there.

It's like a mix of practical, basic skills mixed with how to be a gay boy.

---

I don't have a problem with the "dressing like an adult" one, but I don't think we also need separate "dressing for a wedding" and "dressing for a job interview". They're encompassed in dressing like an adult.

...and just like that, the list of 42 things everyone should learn becomes only 39 things everyone should learn.

ummm, basic firearm safety and operation?

planting and growing food?

and of course recognizing and drinking good booze

having an 18 yr old step son, this thread makes me shake my head.

the struggles through the first list but agree with Gunny's post, just figure ***t out

I've been following James since he was on another YouTube channel. I really like his automotive content. There is video on the Speeed channel about the origin of almost every automotive logo, and I thought it was awesome. Especially as someone who spends of time on the road/in traffic.

I feel like even if I've never done some of those things (like relight the pilot on the water heater), I could figure it out pretty easily on my own.

Now the skills relating to changing my personality? Like being able to say no, holding a conversation with strangers, etc......that's where I'd fail.

BrazosDog02 said:

---

I think the stick shift thing is fun and all but it's weird to me how people get hung up on that.

It's not rocket science, but We can pretty much much put it in the category with pouring musket balls, changing fuses in the electric panel, and driving a mule team.

---

You'd be surprised. I just bought a 5 speed, and my older son is all about learning it. My younger son asked why the *** he should care about driving stick.

BrazosDog02 said:

---

I think the stick shift thing is fun and all but it's weird to me how people get hung up on that.

It's not rocket science, but We can pretty much much put it in the category with pouring musket balls, changing fuses in the electric panel, and driving a mule team.

---

Yeah, as much as I think everyone should learn to drive on a manual, these things largely just don't exist anymore outside of sports/performance cars. In the '80s and even '90s, you'd find many standard trans cars out there and not knowing how to drive one could be a detriment. Now, just knowing the absolute basics -- essentially how to move it with people pushing -- is all but sufficient.

I'll tell my standard trans story: I'd been driving less than 6 months when I agreed to help some friends from church open a small retail store. The man had this older panel truck -- think Suburban with panels instead of windows -- that had the three speed column shift. I knew, basically, how to drive a standard, but hadn't had a lot of practice. Anyway, he says to follow him (me in the truck) to the store, about 2.5 miles away and we'd take the highway service road. No problem.

Well, we get to the first major street red light and I'm the lead vehicle. The light turns green and I take off. Vehicle dies. I start it again, it dies. Now, I'm halfway into the intersection. This goes on for just this side of forever (actually, maybe 30 seconds at most but it was excruciating) when I realize it is in third gear and not first! I put it in first with everyone around honking and giving me the finger! I get going and clear everything but my shorts. I make the mistake of telling my dad that night and he couldn't stop laughing.

BlueSmoke said:

---

I need to get better and memorizing names. It's always been a problem with me to the point that I've tried to get into mnemonic tricks to help with names and association.

I don't envy others all that much, but those with exceptional memories.....I do covet.....

---

Hear hear. I'm actually really self conscious about this. My memory recall for names is the worst I have ever seen. It's…. concerning. I've had my brains scrambled a few times over the years and attributed it to that but now it's getting worse.

Gunny456 said:

---

Learning pure old Common Sense or used to be called "Horse Sense"....instead of book smart only. A trait much lacking in this day and time. Getting out and learning how do do things on your own instead of depending on somebody doing it for you. This can be as simple as learning how to change a tire etc.

---

It's covered in the original list. "Learn how to learn new things". Which over the course of a lifetime is probably the most important skill of all of course.

Was thinking of something I lacked that was detrimental to me and hit on something that took me more years than I care to admit to address and fix.

Learn proper time management.

I know people who never figured this out before they passed of old age and I learned in school that it is very much a skill set to be learned and even practiced.

Lots of cheap rental cars in poor but beautiful countries have manual transmissions, if you like to travel to such places. Bonus that sometimes they're right hand drive!

Both of my personal vehicles are manuals. I enjoy having more control over the vehicle and being able to feel what it is doing. I can make a clutch basically last longer than the vehicle from the experience I have driving manuals.

In the USA they're fairly rare now because we mostly view vehicles as disposable and dump them on the used market before the automatics start having major issues, but in Europe about 50% of their small vehicles are still manual.

Learn how to do something without watching a YouTube video.

Too many young people are almost totally visual learners - because that's how their brains have been trained. They have no common sense, and can't figure simple things out.

Charismatic Megafauna said:

---

Lots of cheap rental cars in poor but beautiful countries have manual transmissions, if you like to travel to such places. Bonus that sometimes they're right hand drive!

---

Right hand drive manual would be interesting... is first gear toward the driver or away? lol

I forget...I think the gearbox was the same, so same pattern just with your left hand.