My apologies. I didn't mean to be inflammatory. My point was that we were talking about a generic Rec diver being able to set their own GF. You used your wife as an example of someone who should be able to do this for herself even though (you implied) she doesn't have an "Advanced card". So, the implication is, a person who has no more training than the class for the OW cert should be allowed to set whatever GF they want, with no further actual training. Again, I may just not understand what I'm saying due to my inexperience, but that seems to be on par to saying that someone who has completed OW certification and who was done their own studying of all the material appropriate for basic Nitrox certification should be able to dive Nitrox without actually taking a formal Nitrox certification course.
Gradient Factors seem like the kind of thing that you would not just tell a new OW cert to set however they feel like. And yes, I have read all about GF and I believe I understand what they are and how you use them. But, as I said, I have done the same thing for Nitrox. So, do I think I know what I need to know to dive with my own GF settings and using Nitrox? Yes. Would I? No. Why? Because I also know that I am a prime example of not knowing what I don't know, so I will insist on getting formal training in these things before I dive with them. Which also seems to be a common theme here on SB - "you don't know what you don't know, so don't attempt anything you haven't been trained for." Thus my expressed surprise that you seem to be an advocate of people diving with their own GF settings with no more training that a basic OW cert. 'Cause you KNOW that if you give someone a computer that can have the settings mucked with (even if it requires changing from Rec mode first), there are people who WILL muck with them. "Hey, look! If I set this to 100/100, it gives me way more bottom time! Cool!"
