How about turning those improvised signals into a quick cheat sheet for the team? Once you have a set that works, it's worth sketching them out on a laminated card for everyone. That way, next time the radio dies, you're not stuck waving like a maniac trying to remember what means what. Plus, new guys can get up to speed without the usual confusion. It's basically creating your own dumb-proof sign language for the job.

Doesn't this happen with movies too, @the_kim, making normal spots feel like scenes?

Wait yeah, that's a really good point. Like, Portugal was already figuring out how to sail around Africa on their own around that same time. Even if the Ming kept their fleet, other countries were gonna start exploring and trading anyway. It wasn't just one door closing, it was a bunch of other windows opening up all over the place. Big history is never just about one thing going wrong.