Is learning to dive on your own safer than learning with an instructor?

Is learning diving on your own safer than learning with an instructor?

  • Yes. I trust myself more than I trust an instructor.

    Votes: 3 3.8%
  • Yes. I learn better at my own pace and alone.

    Votes: 3 3.8%
  • No. An instructor will increase my safety.

    Votes: 14 17.7%
  • No. However, I would make sure I have a qualified and competent instructor.

    Votes: 59 74.7%

  • Total voters
    79

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It is a "no-brainer", WW. Unfortunately, some people's ego make them think that they are impervious to their own mistakes.
 
Longhorn:
Teaching yourself some of the diving procedures would be easier if the basic PADI OW book they sell for the class was not written for idiots.

Its not written for idiots, its written for children, 12 year olds to be exact. You know why? No, not because that's how old you had to be to take a class when it was written, but because extensive research showed that that was the basic conprehension level of the average o/w student.

Personally I think they might have overestimated in many cases.

WW
 
"Its not written for idiots, its written for children, 12 year olds to be exact. You know why? No, not because that's how old you had to be to take a class when it was written, but because extensive research showed that that was the basic conprehension level of the average o/w student."

Those folks shouldn't be teaching themselfs how to dive. Do you think that you could teach a friend how to dive, starting in a pool, without taking the class. Mentoring works very well when the mentor is responsible.
 
No matter how bad your instructor is, unless they are total screw ups they, hopefully, be in the area when the poo poo hits the rotating inclined plane because the student hoovered the tank empty, assembled the gear incorrectly or had a malfunction. That gives the student the opportunity to rip the reg out of the instructor's mouth, thereby bringing to his/her attention the fact that a problem exists.

Teaching yourself gives you precisely what for redundancy?

OTOH, I encourage anyone who thinks that they can teach themselves to scuba to to for it and to expand their philosophy to include other activities. More specifically, I'd suggest Explosive Ordnance Disposal or the installation and repair of high voltage electrical systems.

Either way, we'll all benefit, most probably from the increase in the global IQ as the Darwin candidates remove themselves from the average and the gene pool.
 
WreckWriter:
...Personally I think they might have overestimated in many cases...

At least, the 4 who answered yes were honest enough to acknowledge that they didn't have a clue...
 
Longhorn:
Those folks shouldn't be teaching themselfs how to dive. Do you think that you could teach a friend how to dive, starting in a pool, without taking the class. Mentoring works very well when the mentor is responsible.

Yea, I think I could but then again I was an instructor for 10 years. The things I learned about how to teach in my ITC were much more valuable than the things I learned about how to dive there.

Mentoring does work well, after the basics are taught properly.

Arguing for mentoring at this level is beyond dumb. The resulting diver, even if competent, is unable to rent gear, buy air, go on charter boats, pretty much anything most divers do.

WW
 
A mentor is still a defacto instructor... not qualified, nor certified as such but an instructor nonetheless. When the caca hits the fan, I hope they have the skills to get their buddy out alive.
 
WreckWriter:
Yea, I think I could but then again I was an instructor for 10 years. The things I learned about how to teach in my ITC were much more valuable than the things I learned about how to dive there.

Mentoring does work well, after the basics are taught properly.

WW

I'd say the same thing. I've been an AI for a couple of years, and I believe that I could probably teach someone to dive.

I have learned many diving techniques from mentors. Oftentimes, I gained skills before I took a formal class. However, I like to follow through with the class because I've found that it puts the finishing touch on my skills. Sometimes I learn an easier way of doing something, other times I just learn a way I like better.

Pete's right. Picking a mentor can be far more of a gamble than picking an instructor. After all, its not hard to convince a newbie that you know something, when in fact you're a pumped up nouveau riche rescue diver with little to no formal training, an attitude complex and more time on your hands than is healthy.
 
NetDoc:
A mentor is still a defacto instructor... not qualified, nor certified as such but an instructor nonetheless. When the caca hits the fan, I hope they have the skills to get their buddy out alive.

When they don't we read about in the paper, thankfully not such a common occurence as it once was. There will always be folks who choose to ride the short bus <shrug>

WW
 
NetDoc:
It is a "no-brainer", WW. Unfortunately, some people's ego make them think that they are impervious to their own mistakes.

And some just think polls on subjects like this are tantamount to trolling, given the other thread already here...and they may therefore not take the poll seriously. :)
 
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