What are age/depth restrictions..

[KrisB]

mas·ter·y (m

s

t

-r

)n. pl. mas·ter·ies 1. Possession of consummate skill.
2. The status of master or ruler; control: mastery of the seas.
3. Full command of a subject of study: Her mastery of economic theory impressed the professors.

You find that confusing?

I think you and I both know that there is a lot open to interpretation with that, especially when you consider that the scuba instructor of average intelligence is not much smarter than a member of the population with average intelligence.

But for argument's sake, tell me: what does mastery of the dive tables "look like"? And what does mastery of a mask remove & replace look like? (Both using the dictionary definition).

 

[Thalassamania]

I think you and I both know that there is a lot open to interpretation with that, especially when you consider that the scuba instructor of average intelligence is not much smarter than a member of the population with average intelligence.

But for argument's sake, tell me: what does mastery of the dive tables "look like"? And what does mastery of a mask remove & replace look like? (Both using the dictionary definition).

They look exactly like what I expect of my students.

To calculate a series of three dives per day carried out over three sequential days (that's nine dives) without any error. The dives are designed so that the various "special rules" come into play.

In the case of a mask clear is is the ability to surface dive to the bottom of a thirteen foot pool in 7mm full suit while wearing three finger mitts, having previously placed both weight belt and mask/snorkel combination on the bottom, recover and roll into weight belt and buckle it. Recover and don mask, clear it, place snorkel in mouth and perform a rotating arm up ascent, arriving at the surface with a clear mask and snorkel. That fits the definition of mastery, e.g., consummate skill. Perhaps its "grand mastery" and just plain "mastery" lies a little south, but those are the criteria that I've used since 1972.

 

[KrisB]

They look exactly like what I expect of my students.

To calculate a series of three dives per day carried out over three sequential days (that's nine dives) without any error. The dives are designed so that the various "special rules" come into play.

In the case of a mask clear is is the ability to surface dive to the bottom of a thirteen foot pool in 7mm full suit while wearing three finger mitts, having previously placed both weight belt and mask/snorkel combination on the bottom, recover and roll into weight belt and buckle it. Recover and don mask, clear it, place snorkel in mouth and perform a rotating arm up ascent, arriving at the surface with a clear mask and snorkel. That fits the definition of mastery, e.g., consummate skill. Perhaps its "grand mastery" and just plain "mastery" lies a little south, but those are the criteria that I've used since 1972.

I think you've just re-defined mastery to be synonymous with perfection. Perhaps (since we're now also coupling skills in the case of your mask clear & weight belt) we've exceeded perfection for the single skill and now required an additional stressor.

That concept far exceeds what most believe to be a level of "mastery" -- hence the reason some agencies have chosen to further define that in a way that allows for less ambiguity.

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

You may get your advenced adventure at 10..

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

Also, sorry my connection went south...
To clarify, teh Advanced Adventure allows 10 years to 12 to go not more than 21 meters for the deep component of the course.

Haley got her advanced card without doing the deep specialty. She had navigation, drift, wreck, and ppb. Also, she had over 25 logged dives.

 

[Thalassamania]

I think you've just re-defined mastery to be synonymous with perfection. Perhaps (since we're now also coupling skills in the case of your mask clear & weight belt) we've exceeded perfection for the single skill and now required an additional stressor.

That concept far exceeds what most believe to be a level of "mastery" -- hence the reason some agencies have chosen to further define that in a way that allows for less ambiguity.

Someone who "Possesses consummate skill" will, in fact, do things perfectly. Each skill is separate and each must be done. The fact that they are done in series, as part of a larger exercise, is more efficient for final testing and means that we are seeing if, in fact, the student has mastered the skill and can do it under something more resembling "real world circumstances" than kneeling on the bottom praying that they don't get water up their nose.

 

[KrisB]

Someone who "Possesses consummate skill" will, in fact, do things perfectly. Each skill is separate and each must be done. The fact that they are done in series, as part of a larger exercise, is more efficient for final testing and means that we are seeing if, in fact, the student has mastered the skill and can do it under something more resembling "real world circumstances" than kneeling on the bottom praying that they don't get water up their nose.

Alright. So, would you apply the same standards to whether a person "passes" their driver's license test? No mistakes?

That would be an excellent way of minimizing traffic -- I suspect we could cut down on 90% or more that way!

 

[Thalassamania]

If it were up to me, yes. But it isn't and no one ever said that to get a driver's license you needed to display "mastery" or either your ability to control a vehicle or your knowledge of the material.

I'm not saying that you must have "mastery" to dive, or do anything else, I just object to the use of the word in standards when that's not what's really meant. It is both mendacious and self-serving and exists only so that the agency can puff its chest out and then cut you off at the short hairs when convenient (and it would not be the first time) because you did not actually meet standards.