Thumbs Up/Down?

[tridacna]

I'm not sure if this has been answered before.

Why were the "thumbs up" and thumbs down" signs adopted as standard dive practice for ascend and descend? It seems counterintuitive (maybe I am simply unaware of other cultural issues) to have selected what it is traditionally used as an "Everything is good" thumbs up sign and turned it to the ascend sign in SCUBA. I guess that an index finger pointing up or down could have worked as well. Then we have to use a new sign "O" to indicate ALL-OK. This is one skill that I consistently have to reinforce with students. And it takes a long time to become ingrained. Anyone have any idea of the reasons and the history?

 

[Garrobo]

I don't know the answer but if a guy didn't have a thumpb on either hand he'd be up ****creek in a hurry.

 

[spectrum]

I guess that an index finger pointing up or down could have worked as well.

Not with 3 finger mitts.

Then we have to use a new sign "O" to indicate ALL-OK.

The O or the 1 and 2 arm variations enable the diver to communicate wellness from a long distance. Thumbs up would not make the grade here.

 

[Walter]

Seems obvious to me. The thumb up is pointing up, and indication to ascend. The thumb down is pointing down, an indication to descend. The thumb up/thumb down indicating live/die is a Hollywood invention.

 

[Bonuss]

Not an expert, but other industries also us Thumb up and down for "up and down".

Osha hand signals for direcfting cranes are similar. So I think it is "bigger" that just diving.

Bob in CO

 

[ianw2]

The thumbs up sign has been in use around the world for a number of meanings for a very long time. Hollywood may well have picked it up as a dramatic touch, but it is simply not true that it is a Hollywood invention.

A quick look at this painting, Pollice verso (Thumbs down) , by Gé rô me, in 1872, puts your comment to rest.

Although the idea that the sign stems from the Roman gladiatorial battles, that theory has come under fire in recent years. Or, at least, the positive connotation of the thumbs up has.

Even still, Desmond Morris claims that the gesture was used in sealing deals in medieval times and came to mean "harmony and kind feelings". There certainly wasn’t a Hollywood movie industry in the middle ages.

As far as the OPs question, it is a valid one and one I’ve though of, too.

Oh…my old three finger mitts had pockets for the thumb, index finger and the third pocket for the remaining three fingers. Using the index finger to point up or down for ascend or descend would have worked very nicely.

Now, is there really anyone who has a solid answer to the OPs question? Using the index finger to point in a direction is just about universal in its application and meaning. Why not use it to indicate up or down when diving?

Ian

 

[Aspendiver]

How would you then indicate "one"?
or even point to something without it being confusing?

 

[spectrum]

How would you then indicate "one"?
or even point to something without it being confusing?

With the index finger.

Again with the 3 finger mitts it gets messy.

 

[Aspendiver]

With the index finger.

Again with the 3 finger mitts it gets messy.

Spectrum- not referencing your post, but the guys that want to use their index finger for up/down. I agree with you. The thumb means direction- no confusion. Index finger has many uses, except in three finger mitts!

 

[ianw2]

I must be missing something.

Why would a 3 fingered mitt be "messy" when using the index finger? Why would the thumb be recognizable but not the index finger?

Surely you can identify the index finger on this three fingered mitt as easily as you can recognize the thumb.

If you were standing at the butcher coutner and were trying to indicate which steak you wanted, would you point to it with your thumb or your index finger? If you were trying to tell someone how to get to a nearby place, would you point with your index finger or your thumb? The index finger is used almost univeraslly to indicate direction.

As far as the difference between the number one and the direction signal, how do you distinguish between the two above the surface? Why would it change below the surface? If you can indicate the number one in three fingered mitts, why can't you indicate direction using the same digit?

I'm not trying to change the UW community. I'm trying to understand why the UW community chose the thumb to indicate direction instead of the index finger.

Of course, thumbing the dive sounds better than giving the dive the finger!

Ian