Well, that's a deep subject...

(Sorry, my wife teaches 3rd grade, that's the level of humor to which I am constantly exposed)

But not a bad question. I think it's a thought that occurs to some or maybe even many of us. Folks who are outdoors a lot for fun or work test their gear all the time; sometimes on purpose, sometimes not. We suburbanite deskjockies may have a Walter Mitty view of holding civilization together when disaster strikes but have no experience in actually doing so.

Do I secretly wish to actually being lost in the woods, or have my car slip into snow covered gully, or fight aliens or zombies just to have a 'learning' experience? Absolutely not!

I prepare for all those things (well, for space aliens and zombies, not so much). But if most of my gear never needs using I'll be ok with that.

Preparation, both physical and mental, for me is a way to provide for my family and challenge my brain so that when stuff happens I've got a chance. At least survival situations, on the wild chance they may occur, won't be a foreign concept. But I ain't about to go looking for one.