gcbryan
Contributor
I think it's almost certainly true that you don't really grow as a diver unless you stretch, and sometimes overreach. We probably learn far more from the dives that didn't go as we hoped they would than we do from the ones that do. But there is a fine line between pushing the edge of the envelope, and overfacing yourself into a scare or an accident.
I, for one, for example, would always advise a new diver to be extremely cautious about tides and currents, because I haven't liked AT ALL the times I've miscalculated. Did I learn something from those dives? Sure. (Mostly, to be better at figuring slack, and to remember to reset my watch for daylight savings time . . .) Would I cheerfully advise someone else to have those experiences? Not really.
We will all make errors, and we will almost all eventually take on more than we can comfortably handle. It's just part of being an active and ambitious diver. But those situations are the ones where accidents are waiting in the wings, and I don't want to advise anyone, let alone a new diver, to put themselves on the sloping edge of the incident pit. Thus my frequent advice to take a class, or to avoid a given situation, or to face it with more experienced buddies who can prevent the worst errors in judgment.
Of course you understand that my position isn't the opposite being that of advocating that the answer to all new diver's questions should be "go for it".
I would disagree with your position above regarding current...not necessarily to a brand new diver or an extremely current sensitive site but in a more reasonable scenario there's nothing wrong learning to deal with a little current. To do otherwise would create a diver with an unnatural fear of mild current when living and diving in an area where current is a fact of life.