Spare Air: some thoughts

[idocsteve]

Well I believe this is why he put the word hold in the quotes.

It's ok to "hold" your breath while scuba diving?

I think not.

It IS ok to not breathe while keeping the airway open.

 

[idocsteve]

Interesting "Lessons for Life" makes a case for spare air:

Seaduction - Diver Down: Choking on It

I'm not seeing that at all. The diver who was the subject of the story had numerous options available to him, including his own octopus, and his buddy's octopus, as well as using problem solving skills which would have identified the cause (and solution) in a very short time.

Rather than choosing any of them he panicked and bolted for the surface.

I doubt he would have grabbed for a Spare Air even if it was readily accessible.

 

[RJP]

If a rule in scuba diving exists due to the inability of (some) dive educators to teach a technique, is it really cardinal?

Your point is well taken. I liken the whole "never hold your breath" thing to being more about making things clear to the new dive student; people who essentially have a childlike level of naivete/understanding of scuba, regardless of age or intelligence.

For example: at the earliest possible age we tell our children in no uncertain terms "NEVER talk to strangers!" to get an important point across in an unambiguous way.

However, as their level of sophistication and ability to discern subtleties advances, we tacitly revise that direction:

- "if you get lost, ask a policeman to help you"
- "say hello to daddy's boss"
- "did you say 'thank you' to the ice-cream man?"
- "go ask the waitress for ketchup"

Imagine if you offered a three-year old (someone who lacks any intellectual or experiential frame of reference) this direction:

"Now son...with regard to strangers: in general it's a bad idea to talk them. It's not a hard-and-fast rule, just sort of a guiding principle your mom and I suggest you follow. It's not that strangers are bad people, per se. But some are. But not always. However there are times when talking to strangers is entirely appropriate and even desirable (if not encouraged.) These exceptions are based on a confluence of temporal, spatial, environmental and situational considerations with which you are currently unfamiliar. Unfortunately there's no strict, rule-based system to determine which strangers you can talk to and which you can't. Over time - as your mother and I did - you'll develop a quasi-intuitive heuristic approach to help you sort through the issue. Until then, you're gonna have to sort of wing it."



PS: Nor did we ever say to them "Starting tomorrow it's OK to talk to strangers" but their ability to apply the the underlying concept evolves.

 

[Tanked]

Your point is well taken. I liken the whole "never hold your breath" thing to being more about making things clear to the new dive student; people who essentially have a childlike level of naivete/understanding of scuba, regardless of age or intelligence.

For example: at the earliest possible age we tell our children in no uncertain terms "NEVER talk to strangers!" to get an important point across in an unambiguous way.

However, as their level of sophistication and ability to discern subtleties advances, we tacitly revise that direction:

- "if you get lost, ask a policeman to help you"
- "say hello to daddy's boss"
- "did you say 'thank you' to the ice-cream man?"
- "go ask the waitress for ketchup"

Imagine if you offered a three-year old (someone who lacks any intellectual or experiential frame of reference) this direction:

"Now son...with regard to strangers: in general it's a bad idea to talk them. It's not a hard-and-fast rule, just sort of a guiding principle your mom and I suggest you follow. It's not that strangers are bad people, per se. But some are. But not always. However there are times when talking to strangers is entirely appropriate and even desirable (if not encouraged.) These exceptions are based on a confluence of temporal, spatial, environmental and situational considerations with which you are currently unfamiliar. Unfortunately there's no strict, rule-based system to determine which strangers you can talk to and which you can't. Over time - as your mother and I did - you'll develop a quasi-intuitive heuristic approach to help you sort through the issue. Until then, you're gonna have to sort of wing it."



PS: Nor did we ever say to them "Starting tomorrow it's OK to talk to strangers" but their ability to apply the the underlying concept evolves.

Is it sad that I actually look forward to your posts?

 

[RJP]

Is it sad that I actually look forward to your posts?

Don't worry, I'm sure they'll get my meds sorted out soon...

 

[idocsteve]

PS: Nor did we ever say to them "Starting tomorrow it's OK to talk to strangers" but their ability to apply the the underlying concept evolves.

According to you then, students and new divers should be told to never hold their breath but once they are comfortable diving, and have some experience under their weight belts, they can be told to "hold" their breath.

Thanks for clarifying.

:blinking:

 

[RJP]

It's ok to "hold" your breath while scuba diving?

I think not.

I think you should have taken some of those "welcome to the world below the neck" electives they offered in optometry school...



There are two ways to "hold" your breath:

• Closing the glottis which seals the airway, trapping air in your lungs.
• Expanding your diaphragmatic, abdominal, and costal muscles to create a semi-rigid vessel which yet remains unclosed as the glottis is open

In both cases above your breathe is held: First in a sealed container. Second in a negative-pressure cavity. The second version would seem pretty safe to use in diving. .

 

[vladimir]

I apologize for opening up this whole "holding your breath" discussion. It was a picayune complaint to a writer who almost assuredly knew not to hold his breath while ascending, as we all do, and was only incidentally germane to the topic at hand. And, like most of us, I hold my breath on every dive, just not while ascending. To the extent that there is disagreement on this, it is certainly semantic, rather than substantive. Again, my apologies.

 

[idocsteve]

There are two ways to "hold" your breath:

• Closing the glottis which seals the airway, trapping air in your lungs.
• Expanding your diaphragmatic, abdominal, and costal muscles to create a semi-rigid vessel which yet remains unclosed as the glotis is open

In both cases above your breathe is held: First in a sealed container. Second in a negative-pressure cavity. The second version would seem pretty safe to use in diving. .

I don't agree that the second case qualifies as "holding your breath" because you are allowing air exchange between the "negative pressure cavity" and what is outside it. There is no force being exerted to move the air but likewise there is no force in place to prevent it from flowing.

 

[DCBC]

There are some who believe that the answer to life's tragedies is in fact to pray for God's blessing, mercy, forgiveness, or whatever.

They might take issue with your statement that relying on a higher power to save their ass is stupid and is in fact no different than committing suicide.

I'm a Christian idocsteve; you miss my point (Matthew 4:6-7).