To my knowledge, I have the latest and greatest versions of the TDI Advanced Nitrox and Decompression Procedures books. I don't have them on hand, but I think they were written in the 2000/2001 time frame. The material is those two books are severely out dated as there has been progress in decompression theory and a better understanding of how the body reacts to gases under pressure. Even by 2000 we had a greater understand of these topics, but the author either thought the newer information was to premature to include or chose to ignore it all together. I understand that TDI is making progress in updating it's class material .. maybe even the standards. I don't know anybody higher up within TDI to be able to say what exactly is happening to revamp their programs. I read and pay attention to what ever Steve Lewis posts on TheDecoStop.com because I believe he is a wealth of experience and knowledge. I look forward to reading the updated texts that he is working on and has already published. One man can only do so much in a given day however. Until the programs are revamped though, I can only go by what the programs are currently and from what I've seen of the two classes I've taken they are drastically behind the curve and dare I say vintage 1990? What do I know though? Like you said, I'm only 26.
You have a valid point - but so do some other people.
I have some vintage dive manuals from the 60's as well as a tape of Lloyd Bridges telling people how to scuba dive. It's nice to know where we have been as those who do not heed the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them - another excellent point you allude to.
I also took the TDI Advanced Nitrox and Deco Procedures course a few years ago. I did raise my eyebrows a bit initially at the reference to US Navy tables in the book as I have not used a US Navy table in at least a decade. When I first learned deco procedures in the late 1980's, US Navy tables were the standard, but they have for the most part fallen out of favor with the advent of more modern deco theory and models.
But as a former college professor I realized that was not the point of using them in the TDI manuals - the point was they HAVE been around for years, the tables are readily availabel and most of even the newest rec divers have familiarity with US Navy based tables (such as the PADI RDP, etc that use the same format) so they represent a good place to start and some common ground on which to focus on procedure. And the point of a course is to learn procedures and concepts. If an attempt to do otherwise had been made, decisions would have had to have been made as to what software or tables among numeropus options available to a modern technical diver would have to be used. That would have put substantial emphasis on learning to use a particular table or program rather than on learning producures that apply to any dive with any table. Plus it would have deviated from TDI's underlying theme that the diver, no one else, is primarily responsible for their planning and conduct of the dive.
Of course the instructor then augmented the text with much more material - that is what they are for - including a supplemental text that he liked and the in water procuedures were much more of what you would probably consider being up to date.
So the previous posters are correct that in a rapidly evolving sport the manuals are out of date the day they are published and that putting faith in or having the expectation that any manual is going to be cutting edge makes about as much sense as listening to Lloyd Bridges tell you how to scuba dive.
But you have a valid point that the fact that I in particular or other divers in general were doing deco dives when you were 5 is not relevant as the merits of anyone's arguments should not be judged soley on their age. On the other hand you have to understand that we older divers have all had the experience of being 26 and more importantly we all have the memories of how much more we thought we knew then tempered with the realization that comes with more expereince of how little we really understood then. It's the compensation you get for the aches and pains that come with that age and experience.
