I have become convinced that the general intent of OP's posts here on SB rarely maintained beyond a few pages.
LOL. I must certainly agree. Nonetheless, the meanderings of the discussion are interesting.
So I guess that I am sorry to the Technical divers trolling the New Divers Forum for offending you. I am sorry for the New Divers who are burnt out and will not post because of being thrashed. I guess I am sorry I even started this thread! You want to know why SB is the way it is then take a closer look! Have fun with this one fellows!
I suspect CamG is feeling a little frustrated both by a few entirely tangential additions to his original point, and a level of didactic qubbling with his words. But, it is an internet forum after all, and I guess that is to be expected (and probably adds to the interest and value, and enjoyment). I hope he will continue to post, and I think this thread has stimulated some worthwhile discussion.
OK, so instead of starting his post off with the phrase, ‘In recent days’, maybe he could have said ‘Over the years’, or even, ‘Since the beginning of time’, although the time interval per se wasn’t the primary point of the post. So-called bounce dives – more specifically the consequences of particular bounce dives, have been the subject of at least a few SB discussions. Following CamG’s posts over the years, I have come to view him as thoughtful, sincere, and genuinely interested in helping divers – new and experienced – continue their development, their learning, their training. So, even if I were to disagree with him on some particular point with regard to bounce dives, I have nothing but the highest regard for his motivation. In the case of his here post, I interpret it as similar to several existing ‘Sticky’ notes on SB, e.g. ‘Tech diving equipment and awareness, and too much too soon’, and ‘A letter to the open water dive community from the NACD’. The common theme in those posts and CamG’s – there are some (particulary, possibly unnecessarily) risky behaviors about which divers should be made aware, and even cautioned, until they have the proper training, experience and equipment. Someone posted it the other day – mindset, skillset, toolset.
What the thread has prompted me to think about is that people (myself most definitely included) engage in risky behaviors for a variety of reasons.
Some people want to see what they can get away with; some people want an adrenaline rush, or bragging rights, or whatever; some people feel their contribution to society has gone unrecognized for too long and seek public acclaim and recognition through awards (Darwin Awards). And, yes, some people are motivated by being told NOT to do something, so they DO it just to see what all the hub-bub is about.
But, some people are genuinely curious, about what is over the next hill, what it is like to dive to 200 feet, what is it like to walk on the moon; some people legitimately want to test themselves under stressful conditions; some people want to gain first-hand experience so that they have better insight and decision-making skills. And, taking risk is a necessary part of human progress. If the Wright brothers (or their French counterpart) had listened to nay-sayers about the dangers of flight, they might not have ever attempted it.
There is a continuum between a ‘completely foolhardy, reckless and just plain stupid’ action on the left and a ‘carefully planned, extensively researched, thoroughly thought through, obsessively prepared for’ action on the right. There is danger and uncertainty at all points on the continuum, probably more on the left side and less on the right. But, everyone has to draw a line somewhere on that continuum which defines with what they are individually comfortable. Discussions like this thread may help some people draw their line in a more informed manner. In some cases society and government seem more than happy to draw the line for us, through regulation and legislation. In some cases various members of society seem most anxious to arbitrarily apply their line to everyone else.
The reality is, people are going to take risks. I think Cam’s point is, don’t take foolhardy risks by doing something that probably has limited reward but also has excessive risk, at least before thinking about it and trying to determine what those risks are. Maybe he is more conservative than some SB’ers. And, maybe he is less risk-averse than others. But, I applaud him for raising the point for discussion.
