Lost in Jungle

C: Well, this sounds like an interesting problem statement. I’d like to make sure if I have understood it correctly (candidates reinstates the problem statement). 

I: Yes, you have understood it correctly. What would you now do?

C: Thank you. I’d first like to ask if there is any objective that I need to solve here? The first thought that comes to mind is how to get out of the jungle? Or we could also be rescuing someone else? Or we could also be setting up a house in jungle?

I: So the situation is like this. You went to sleep yesterday just like you always do, but when you woke up, you woke up in a jungle. Now to get out of the jungle or not, its all upto you. I want to know what would be your next steps.

C:  Okay. Well, I think I am going to put myself in the situation and then think what would I actually have done. (Asks for 30 seconds to structure thoughts). I would have a lot of questions in my mind, and I’d like to ask them. 

I:Sure. Go ahead.

C: So my questions are broadly around 3 things. Firstly, I want to understand the scenario a little better. I’d like to know what kind of a jungle we are talking about here? Where is it located? What time of the day is it? What is the weather like?

I: Good set of questions. You can imagine it to be any random jungle near or around your city. As for other things like time of day and weather, you can consider it to be just like what it is now. 

What are your next set of questions?

C: Next I’d like to understand the person in jungle. While I know I have assumed it to be myself, but I’d like to clarify some things. Do I have any possessions with me? Can I assume myself to be in the same state as I currently am in, healthwise, and knowledge about jungle?

I:  Yes, you do have certain possessions. You have a matchbox, a swiss knife, and a smartphone but no signals. I think this is enough information. I’d like to know your next steps.

C: Sure. So for someone who woke up in a jungle, there are two options with the person. One is they’d want to get out of the jungle or two, they can choose to stay within the jungle. I’d like to start with first exploring what if the person wants to get out of the jungle and then come back to 2nd option. Does this sound like a good approach to go about?

I: Yes, sure. Go ahead.

C: So when the person wants to get out of the jungle, there can be 2 possibilities. Either I have the knowledge of how things work in a jungle (like which directions to follow, how to hunt, right set of plants/fruits to eat etc.) or the person doesn’t have this knowledge. In case he doesn’t have the knowledge, depending upon the time of the day, he’d have 2 options. If it’s night time, he can take shelter – can build through plants or find a rock/cave. If it’s day time, he can start walking to find a way out. Further possibilities could be, he either finds a way out or he doesn’t. In case he doesn’t, he can keep walking or give up. In case he gives up, he might die or some external help might come in.

I: Well, that’s an interesting set of possibilities you listed out there. What if the person has the knowledge about jungle?

C: In case the person has the knowledge of how things work in jungle, again depending upon the time of the day, he’d have multiple options. In case of day time, the person can make use of Sun’s position to stick to one direction and circle around the jungle. The person can also try to find a water body or some community establishment.

I: Great. I think I am convinced that the person can now get out of the jungle. But what if he wants to stay?

C:Sure, if the person chooses to stay in the jungle, his stay can be either short term or he can choose to permanently live in the jungle. In case he chooses to stay in the jungle for short term, he can first needs to decide on a place to settle, somewhere close to a water body. He can either find a community to live with or he can choose to set up his own establishment.

I: Well. Now that we have all the options explored, could you please summarize everything and suggest what could be the best course of action here?

C: Sure. So the person broadly has two options to go ahead with. Either he can choose to stay within the jungle, where further his stay can be for short term or can choose to permanently stay within the jungle.
Or else, he may want to get out of the jungle and depending upon his knowledge about the jungle, he can have various possibilities.
The best course of action, given that the person suddenly woke up in the jungle, would be to escape. One can make good use of the possessions, like use the mobile phone for GPS, matchbox to attract people from far off and swiss knife to survive.

I: Thank you for summarizing the case and sharing the best of course of action. You could have also pinched yourself hard enough to wake up from your dream or just slept in jungle in hope of waking up back at home.