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Naked and Afraid

Naked and Afraid is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Naked and Afraid rather than just read about it. In short: Naked and Afraid is an American reality series that airs on the Discovery Channel. Each episode chronicles the lives of two survivalists who meet for the first time naked and are given the task of surviving a stay in the wilderness for 21 days.

Naked and Afraid — main illustration
Naked and Afraid — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Naked and Afraid belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Naked and Afraid to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Naked and Afraid from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Naked and Afraid is an American reality series that airs on the Discovery Channel. Each episode chronicles the lives of two survivalists who meet for the first time naked and are given the task of surviving a stay in the wilderness for 21 days. Each survivalist is allowed to bring one helpful item, such as a machete or a fire starter. After they meet in the assigned location, the partners must build a shelter and find water and food.

Synopsis The events of each couple's journey play out in a single episode. Partners strip down and meet each other. They are provided with rough cross-body satchels containing a personal diary/camera, for use when the camera crew is not there at night, and a map. They all wear identical necklaces with a center bead, which is a microphone with a wire that connects to a wireless audio transmitter hidden in the satchel. Some personal jewelry is allowed. Each survivalist is allowed to bring one helpful item, such as a hatchet or a fire starter. There is a camera crew who are not allowed to intervene except for medical emergencies when it is "absolutely necessary". Castmate Alison Teal reports that she was granted an "emergency" tampon. At the beginning of the fourth season, the survivalists were given a third "surprise" option. A team is allowed to "tap out" at any point during the 21-day challenge. If they do not tap out, they must arrive at the designated extraction point on the final day to be picked up by a helicopter, plane, automobile, boat or other vehicle suitable for the environment. Viewers are updated throughout with statistics, including how many days have passed, the time, and the temperature. Naked and Afraid computes and then updates the cast members' PSR (Primitive Survival Rating), which is based on predictions and observations of survival fitness in skill, experience, and mental strengths. Before and after weight measurements are also revealed at the end of an episode.

Episodes

Spin-offs and versions Naked and Afraid XL consists of six pairs of contestants trying to survive 40 days. Naked and Afraid: Alone follows one contestant at a time trying to survive 21 days with no partner or tribe. Naked and Afraid: Solo follows several contestants in parallel, though they never meet. Naked and Afraid of Love takes place in gentler climate and the contestants are romance-oriented. Naked and Afraid: Last One Standing pits the contestants against each other for a cash prize. Naked and Afraid: Castaways groups the contestants into threes and takes place on tropical islands. Naked and Afraid: Apocalypse In a harsh, post-apocalyptic world, twelve seasoned survivalists face their ultimate challenge

Production

Locations The production's home base is in the United States (the Louisiana Bayou, Florida (Everglades and Seminole County) and Alabama). Panama was used as a setting twice in the first and fifth seasons, Nicaragua was also used twice as well in the third season. Like the first season, the second season visited six countries as well, using Malaysia as a setting once again (Season 1 shot on the Malaysian Borneo, while Season 2's survivalists were stranded in Peninsular Malaysia). Season 10 took contestants to the frozen tundra of Alaska and an African Kill Zone.

United States

International

Casting call On July 31, 2013, Discovery Channel posted a casting call and a dare to "survive the 21-day challenge" via their Twitter account.

Naked After Dark Following the success of the live talk show Shark After Dark, Discovery aired Naked After Dark in season two, which aired after each new episode. Host Josh Wolf talked with the cast from the episode, showed behind-the-scenes and never before seen episode footage and has in-studio stunts. It aired for 1 season with 6 episodes.

Pop-up editions Starting in June 2014, Discovery started airing repeat episodes of the show with "pop-up" text on the screen. These graphics shed light on the countries and the survivalists with interesting and often humorous factoids. These shows premiere on Wednesday nights.

Reception

Critical reception By the time of the 2015 season premiere, Brian Moylan of The Guardian called it the "best reality show on television" as it "takes the outrageousness of other reality genres, but applies it to celebrate human strength and fortitude rather than exploiting the frailty and narcissism of those that just want to be noticed." Reviewing the premiere in 2013, Brian Lowry of Variety found Naked and Afraid to be "typical of the genre, but it's still kind of a risible kick, if only for how seriously the show takes itself." Melissa Camacho of Common Sense Media, and David Hinckley of the New York Daily News, gave the show 3 out of 5 stars. Mike Hale of The New York Times expressed skepticism that the dangers implied by the situations faced by the couples in each episode were authentic, even by the standards of reality television, observing that the couple in the series premiere appeared to be cleaner and more shaven than he would have expected. Hale also was not impressed with the interaction between the two participants, whose personalities he found uninteresting, stating that he found the snake bite suffered by the field producer shown in the beginning of the episode to be more riveting.

Ratings Discovery Channel issued a press release which announced some Nielsen ratings milestones for the series. Naked And Afraid was the "#1 Ad-Supported program in cable among men on Sunday, July 28." They also noted that the program now shares the Discovery Channel record for the highest-rated survival telecast in the network's history since June 2009. The "Surthrive" episode in season 4, featuring Bo Stuart and Debbie Harris, is the highest rated episode in the history of the show.

Controversy There has been controversy related to how real the show is. Former contestants have said that the locations are not as isolated as portrayed. A contestant was treated with IV fluids so she could continue, but this was not shown. Les Stroud, of the survival show Survivorman, has been very vocal with his criticism.

See also List of Naked and Afraid episodes Naked and Afraid XL Marooned with Ed Stafford Ed Stafford: Into The Unknown Walking the Amazon Robinsonade

International versions

References

External links Official website Naked and Afraid at IMDb Naked and Afraid on TV.com

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Naked and Afraid

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Naked and Afraid claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Naked and Afraid before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Naked and Afraid ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Naked and Afraid

In research
Naked and Afraid appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Naked and Afraid in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Naked and Afraid is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2010s American reality television series, 2013 American television series debuts, 2013 English-language television series debuts, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Naked and Afraid outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study Naked and Afraid in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Naked and Afraid means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Naked and Afraid out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Naked and Afraid in simple terms?

Naked and Afraid is an American reality series that airs on the Discovery Channel. Each episode chronicles the lives of two survivalists who meet for the first time naked and are given the task of surviving a stay in the wilderness for 21 days.

Why does Naked and Afraid matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Naked and Afraid?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Naked and Afraid.

Tags

  • 2010s American reality television series
  • 2013 American television series debuts
  • 2013 English-language television series debuts
  • 2020s American reality television series
  • Adventure reality television series
  • American adventure television series
  • Discovery Channel original programming
  • English-language American television shows
  • Nudity in television
  • Survival reality television series
  • Television shows set in Africa
  • Television shows set in Asia

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