Another interesting side to that is whether the DIR diver had fun... would he still be DIR if he had fun?
This seems to be another common misconception regarding those of us who sit one the DIR side of the fence. Just because we prefer a systematic approach to our diving doesn't preclude us having fun doing it.
What it DOES do is allow us to reduce the number of "Oh ****!" moments by planning our dive and approaching it as a true team sport. In some respects I think we may enjoy our dives more because our buddy is always right there with us, we are always on the same page and we are able to share the cool things on a dive together instead of having this conversation afterwards:
"Did you see that turtle?"
"No, is THAT what you were trying to point out? Did you see that lionfish?"
"What lionfish?"
"The one you almost knelt on."
"Oh, no I guess not. But wasn't that barrel sponge cool?"
"Barrel sponge??"
Please NOTE:I am in no way implying that there are not plenty of other divers out there that have good skills, buddy awareness, dive planning or equipment configuration. I'm simply saying there are some of us that choose to dive that way all the time and we have fun doing it.
[/soapbox]
Now, back to your regularly scheduled dorkdom.