"Self taught" scuba diving

[Aussiemike]

Hi, does anyone know how I can edit the title of this post? I hoped to add "and electric hookahs" so people with an interest/view about them could comment?

mike

 

[knowone]

Profile

Yes, quite unnecessary having considered a post

 

[Aussiemike]

Yes, quite unnecessary having considered a post

I don't understand either of your posts. Perhaps because I'm an Australian?

mike

 

[miketsp]

Now perhaps you could self teach yourself some other things, privately

Some things are best left to experts:
Police arrest Swedish man who tried to split atom in his KITCHEN | Mail Online


The best bit:
"Before he carried out his experiment, he called the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority to see if what he was doing was legal.

He was subsequently arrested."

 

[Aussiemike]

Aha, I see. Dunning Krieger effect.

Experts tell me 50% of scuba instructors are below average.

mike

 

[captain]

Even in 2011, there are graziers flying around the outback of Australia who have never had a lesson from a qualified instructor; and no, I don't get in the 'plane with them.

I understand that in the US you can fly a single seat ultralight aircraft legally without a licence. Is that a good idea? I'm not sure, things happen a lot quicker in an aircraft taking off and landing than they do diving. You don't have a lot of time to work things out from first principles.

mike

If a diver kills someone it usually himself. Aircraft can crash on people and property hence the government regulation. No such threat exists in diving.

 

[ianr33]

I don't understand either of your posts. Perhaps because I'm an Australian?

mike

Don't worry, no one else understands his posts either.

 

[caseybird]

This is an interesting thread and it obvious the self-taught divers who replied are quite skilled and experienced. Most of you started out in the 70's during a very different era of diving. Instruction was not as formal or as available as today. Did you ever regret having to go the self-taught route? Did you ever feel you lacked certain skills? Did you obtain an adequate theory base through self-study?
How about other divers? How would you grade the skill set of the other self-taught divers? Would you have recommended formal classes for others?
There is a huge amount of self-selection on scubaboard. The self taught divers who replied certainly spent their time honing their skills. The ones who didn't, might have had an incident or accident, never to return to diving.
There really is nothing keeping anyone from teaching themselves diving today. There are thousands of uncertified divers worldwide. Many on SB have commented on the weaknesses of current, mass market dive training. Would you recommend self-training to a new diver?

 

[Thalassamania]

This is an interesting thread and it obvious the self-taught divers who replied are quite skilled and experienced. Most of you started out in the 70's during a very different era of diving. Instruction was not as formal or as available as today. Did you ever regret having to go the self-taught route? Did you ever feel you lacked certain skills? Did you obtain an adequate theory base through self-study? - Yes
How about other divers? How would you grade the skill set of the other self-taught divers? Would you have recommended formal classes for others? - Not for most of them
There is a huge amount of self-selection on scubaboard. The self taught divers who replied certainly spent their time honing their skills. The ones who didn't, might have had an incident or accident, never to return to diving. - that happens to about 80% of the divers who are trained in classes.
There really is nothing keeping anyone from teaching themselves diving today. There are thousands of uncertified divers worldwide. Many on SB have commented on the weaknesses of current, mass market dive training. Would you recommend self-training to a new diver? - Formal training is more efficient, and when done properly much better. I was amazed at what I learned and how my skills improved when I took the Research Diver course at Berkeley, and I had been diving for more than 15 years at that point.

 

[jaycanwk]

I think it depends on the instruction.
There are good instructors and not so good instructors.
If someone gets top notch instruction through any agency and the instructor goes above and beyond to make sure the student gets it, then they are probably better off to start with.
On the other hand if someone gets run through a minimal course by a crappy instructor who just runs them through then I think they might be worse off in some ways because they might have a false sense of knowing what they are doing when in fact the instruction fell short and they were not exposed to everything they needed to know to get the right start. At least in the old book there is stuff covered that is not in newer teaching materials, but it's still up to the individual to want to learn it and have the self discipline to make sure they know it.
With either, that is just a starting point and most of the learning comes after classes in the real world diving with good mentors and getting a lot of dives in challenging environments.


Regardless, Isn't this just supposed to be a theoretical discussion on wether it's possible or not?

I didn't teach myself. A family friend taught me and he is not and instructor. I did read his text books and did about 20 dives before I went on to get certified. When I finally took basic OW I really didn't learn anything new.

It's not for everyone and certainly you "don't know what you don't know" but with a good mentor and the initiative to read etc., it isn't rocket science either.

Jason