Another Statement

[Rick Inman]

This is not my statement but I might give credit where credit is due. Just looking for your reactions. It could cover several areas.

___________________________________


IMO it isn't the number of dives nor even having dived all of the challenging sites that will make you a better/safer/competent diver. Better training will.

I had thousands of dives under my weight belt and had done plenty of the *extreme* dives available around here.
<snip>
It also showed me where I needed to change and improve my skill set before even thinking about proceeding into technical mix gas decompression diving.
<snip>
The point is, I could have kept doing more and more diving using the same skill set I already had (and adding to my growing list of bad habits such as deep air, same ocean buddy diving, riding the computer into and past the NDL, no gas planning, cowboy diving, ect.) But I never would have progressed.

_____________________________________

True? If so, how are you applying this. If not, why not?

 

[David P]

To a point I agree with the post, I don't think there is any person out there that knows all there is to know about diving. Everybody can learn something from someone. Training however gives you the knowledge that makes you a better informed diver, but it is actuall diving that gives you the practice that makes you a better diver.

 

[Firebrand]

I don't think it's the total number of dives that makes someone a better diver (outside of training), I think it IS the number of different conditions in which a person dives. For those who are "warm water divers" who never dive deeper than 30 or 40 feet, I don't think they'll do so well in colder waters, or where visibility is less than desireable.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

True to an extent, not true in a different sense.

I primarily agree with the statement. Better training - a different way to think about diving, to perceive your diving, an improved ability to perform dives, results in a safer more competent diver. Training provides this improvement.

Experience, however, cannot be replicated in a classroom. Getting swept off a wreck by current, getting lost inside a wreck due to a silt-out, successfully responding to an unconscious diver, swimming back to the boat some 80 yards with a stricken buddy, these sorts of things leave an indelible impression on the mind of the diver who experiences the events. It is one thing to discuss under classroom conditions the steps one takes in an emergency. It is something else to actually perform those tasks.

Training does not replace experience. It enhances experience.

 

[Blackwood]

Training however gives you the knowledge that makes you a better informed diver, but it is actuall diving that gives you the practice that makes you a better diver.

Agreed.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I think it's a combination of training, experience, aptitude, and attitude that makes the diver.

I have several dive buddies ... some regular contributors who will no doubt read this ... who have far fewer dives than me, under more limited conditions, yet in some ways are much better divers than I am. What they posses that I don't is a natural aptitude for what they're doing ... where I have to work hard to get something, it seems to come naturally to them.

I also know some divers with far greater experience than me in terms of bottom time, years diving, number of dives, etc. who don't seem to have progressed very far since they graduated from AOW class. They just assumed they knew all they needed to know and stopped learning.

I know instructors who have been teaching far longer than me who know less than I do ... one who claims he's certified over 6,000 divers and yet can't seem to keep his own fins off the bottom. And I know people with less training than me who research everything they can about diving with an intensity I couldn't touch. It gets particularly embarrassing when one of those happens to be my student ...

We're all individuals ... our skills will be a reflection of our individuality. Some learn better by taking classes, others by simply diving. Some excel at certain aspects, while struggling with others. Some will be content with casual knowledge, others will have an insatiable desire for more.

How you define "skill" is largely a matter of your own subjective views about what's important.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[JRScuba]

IMO Training at what ever level should be an on going thing. Getting experience to utilize the training is the other factor on the equation.

Having an open mind and being able to incorporate the two is what makes a more well rounded diver.

In the forum " AOW for Rescue"

Vtdiver2 seems to have the basic formula. IMO

Scuba is an "extreme" sport, treat it as such. Do the training and put in the time to get experience and then take the class to the next level. You'll be a much better diver for it.

Just my my opinion.

But always remember to DIVE SAFELY.

Joe

 

[Azza]

I agree and disagree.
Training is no good if you don’t put it into practice and practicing is no good if you don’t get the training.

OTOH some people will train themselves through diving. Think about where the training came from…

 

[Vtdiver2]

IMO Training at what ever level should be an on going thing. Getting experience to utilize the training is the other factor on the equation.

Having an open mind and being able to incorporate the two is what makes a more well rounded diver.

In the forum " AOW for Rescue"

Vtdiver2 seems to have the basic formula. IMO

Scuba is an "extreme" sport, treat it as such. Do the training and put in the time to get experience and then take the class to the next level. You'll be a much better diver for it.

Just my my opinion.

But always remember to DIVE SAFELY.

Joe

Hey Joe, glad to see we are on the same page. Guess I don't need to add anymore as you've said it all....hey, wait a minute, no it was me, wasn't it...lol

 

[djanni]

Rick, Using this true story to express my reaction to the statement is, perhaps a strech but it's one of my favorite stories anyway.

Circa 1975, the Dean of the Havard Business School believed Harvard to be the best training ground for the business community in the world. He published that no school in is as good as Harvard at teaching one how to solve a business problem.

To prove his theory he commissioned a study. How could you better judge the quality of ones problem solving skills than to base it on that individuals financial success in the business community. Interestingly, the study was setup as follows:

Group 1. 100 Individuals - graduate from college - go directly to Harvard Biz School - go directly into the biz community for 20 years. Average annual earnings = ?

Group 2. 100 Individuals - graduate from college - go directly into the biz community for 15 years - go to Harvard Biz school - go back into the biz community for 5 years.
Average annual earnings = ?

G1 - Dissappointing results - average annual earnings about $75,000.
G2 - Amazing results - average annual earning about $200,000.

So what did the Dean conclude and subsequently publish? He said "It's obvious Harvard is the best school in the world for teaching people how to solve a problem." It's also obvious that individuals trained to solve problems require practical business experience so they can identify the problem that needs to be solved.

So what's the point to my story? I think it proves your anonymous author's point. Dive training without experience has little to nothing do with one's skill and without experience one has no idea where he needs to improve a specific skill.