Undercurrent--"Why Divers Die"

[MikeFerrara]

I was able to read the first part of the article and posted some responses to it earlier in the thread. I remembered some of the accidents they were referencing and though the article was stretching things a bit trying to use them to make the points they were trying to make. We see the same thing in the SD lessons learned articles.

Some of these magazines might be worth reading for people who want travel information but I haven't seen any of them that I would pay to get for hionest to goodness diving information.

 

[Charlie59]

Well, now I can say, I was trying to sell Undercurrent subscriptions. No, not really.

The intent of the post was to direct people to the article and the DAN study for appropriate consideration.

It seems hard to ignore an article with the statement "DAN also considers it (obesity) a top reason for dive fatalities". That to me is a powerful statement. A similar emphasis is presented with the 2004 DAN report.

On further reflection and review of DAN reports I would also say that fitness and health may be an even greater risk for the experienced diver. In stories of experienced divers it seems that health problems (primarily heart disease) kill experienced divers who, had they been healthy, would have survived their situation.

 

[OHGoDive]

I was able to read the first part of the article and posted some responses to it earlier in the thread. I remembered some of the accidents they were referencing and though the article was stretching things a bit trying to use them to make the points they were trying to make. We see the same thing in the SD lessons learned articles.

Some of these magazines might be worth reading for people who want travel information but I haven't seen any of them that I would pay to get for hionest to goodness diving information.

See, I think that's too cynical. Sure, there is lots of information in the press that is not much more than just glorified advertisement (of an establishment or a particular viewpoint), but not all. It's information, and taken in context, with a bit of critical thinking, it can be pretty valuable (same goes for most of what's found here).

I think Undercurrent is very good, it presents a lot of information in a good format, without a lot of preaching or other agendas. That they do it without advertising says a good deal too.

It's not all garbage, even if you don't agree with it. (And I'm pretty high up there on the cynical-meter)

 

[Charlie59]

I agree, Undercurrent is pretty good without a lot of BS ads.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Yeah, but where's the fun in that?

You're right, although I genuinely don't think the intent of the OP was to inflame. That's part of the attraction of these sorts of discussions, people take different things away from them and off they go. People get all riled up. It's fascinating. And in the end, it makes people think. Maybe. Hopefully?

Gotta admire an optimist ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MikeFerrara]

It seems hard to ignore an article with the statement "DAN also considers it (obesity) a top reason for dive fatalities". That to me is a powerful statement. A similar emphasis is presented with the 2004 DAN report.

.

But DAN never made that statement.

 

[MikeFerrara]

See, I think that's too cynical. Sure, there is lots of information in the press that is not much more than just glorified advertisement (of an establishment or a particular viewpoint), but not all. It's information, and taken in context, with a bit of critical thinking, it can be pretty valuable (same goes for most of what's found here).

I think Undercurrent is very good, it presents a lot of information in a good format, without a lot of preaching or other agendas. That they do it without advertising says a good deal too.

It's not all garbage, even if you don't agree with it. (And I'm pretty high up there on the cynical-meter)

I can't say much about undercurrent. the only article I remember reading of theirs is the first part of this article. From my response to it earlier in the thread, you can probably tell that I didn't think much of it.

I read every issue of some of the other dive publications for years and the only uise for them I ever found was to use as examples of how NOT to do things that I presented in classes. We even had a "wall of shame" in our shop that made up primarily of pictures from those magaznines, showing divers in all manor of problems from half assembles equipment to having their fins in the coral and dangling equipment.

Most of these magazines aren't much better than the news paper for diving information and it's clear that they don't even know what diving should look like.

I never pain a nickel for SD magazine and they still sent it to me for years. I feel sorry for the people who actually pay for that rag. I never could get dive training to stop sending me boxes of their magazine. I finally had to ask UPS to just stop delivering it. LOL I'll bet UPS has about a million pounds of dive training magazine.

 

[Charlie59]

Since you read the article you know that the quote was from Undercurrent. On the DAN website if you search for Obesity you will find the information highlighted in the 2004 report (the same info you posted earlier in the thread). DAN clearly reports the obesity finding as an issue. I do not know if the reporter who wrote the Undercurrent article had separate discussions with DAN rep, clearly they spoke with experts in Australia about the issue.

Sorry, no pictures in Undercurrent.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

It seems hard to ignore an article with the statement "DAN also considers it (obesity) a top reason for dive fatalities". That to me is a powerful statement. A similar emphasis is presented with the 2004 DAN report.

It would be a powerful statement if DAN actually had said it.

These magazine articles remind me of some of the "angertainment" shows on the radio and on Faux TV ... they sensationalize by making claims based on their interpretation of what someone said and claim that the other person actually said it. There's usually a tenuous (at best) logical thread between the data and the interpretation.

Perhaps you should check with DAN, rather than what someone else claims they said ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MikeFerrara]

Since you read the article you know that the quote was from Undercurrent. On the DAN website if you search for Obesity you will find the information highlighted in the 2004 report (the same info you posted earlier in the thread). DAN clearly reports the obesity finding as an issue. I do not know if the reporter who wrote the Undercurrent article had separate discussions with DAN rep, clearly they spoke with experts in Australia about the issue.

Sorry, no pictures in Undercurrent.

I don't think there is any denying that obesity is a health issue. Certainly health issues can effect dive safety. Heck, if you aren't at least a little healthy you won't be going diving at all because you'll be dead. However, we aren't going to find any revelations directly related to diving in general health topics.

I don't see anaything wrong with encouraging divers (or anyone else) to lead a healthy lifestyle but there are so many immediately relevant issues that divers should be giving some serious though to right now that no one really seems to want to talk much about..especially the magazines.