what you didn't know you didn't know...

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kidspot

Contributor
Scuba Instructor
Divemaster
Messages
4,854
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Location
Moses Lake, Washington
# of dives
500 - 999
Twice today I've come across someone who said that they didn't realize how much they didn't know at 50 dives... of course the one person is Mark Vlahos in his signature line...
At 50 dives I thought I had this diving thing figured out. At 100 dives I realized how wrong I was at 50!
and then FreeFloat made a similar comment at http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=95709&page=2

Having just passed the 50 dive mark myself last month (6 months after BOW) I thought it might be a good chance to ask about this since I am now in a position where I know just enough to get myself into trouble and not always enough to get out...

So what do you wish you knew earlier on in your diving career... And other than dive, dive, dive what recommendations for learning those things?

Seeking sage advice...
Tim
 
My only advice is to find the right mentor- a person who is not only a good diver, but who can pass along knowledge. One without an ego, that is willing to say "I don't know everything".

Tough to find.

My biggest concern is the instuctors who don't know what they don't know. But think they know.
 
This is what Richard Pyle said on the subject:
After my first 10 hours on a rebreather, I was a real expert. Another 40 hours of dive time later, I considered myself a novice. When I had completed about 100 hours of rebreather diving, I realized I was only just a beginner.

Sorta the same idea.
 
detroit diver:
My only advice is to find the right mentor- a person who is not only a good diver, but who can pass along knowledge. One without an ego, that is willing to say "I don't know everything".

Tough to find.

My biggest concern is the instuctors who don't know what they don't know. But think they know.

Haven't found that person yet... at least when I stick my foot in my mouth around here, (an all to frequent occurance ...;) ) someone is kind enough to point it out to me...

Tim
 
Hey kidspot,
I've only got about 60 dives so I don't know what I can add. I see you got AOW and Rescue, same as me, and I'm sure you'll agree those are invaluable courses. I've already used Rescue to not only help other divers but to help myself. I have a whole different mindset because of it. I think for me diving in many different environments has helped greatly. I know a dive in cold water at 20 fsw with low vis can be just as dangerous as a 120 fsw dive in the tropics. I think the key is pushing the edge just a little to gain experience but don't dive beyond your training and physical/mental ability. And when I say "push the edge" I don't mean diving real deep just to dive deep. Or dive in heavy current without experiencing milder current first. And know when to call a dive. That can be tough at first, to really know when things are not right and to say to yourself I'm outta here. You also have to listen to trust your gut feelings. Many an instructor is wrong. Many an LDS is wrong. Learn your gear inside and out. Learn as much as you can from the folks that are genuine and keep diving.
 
Attitude. Where you place yourself in diving and what you want out of it.
how much you want to learn, or how many diplomas you want on the wall. Mentoring IS the key, experience learned under a master is the best way to learn anything.
Detroit diver has it right. Any egg head can teach you nuts and bolts, and I have seen (recently) a highbrow attitude from SOME instructors that assume they have all the answers. A mentor will teach you intangibles, and give you confidence in ways that can't be tought in class. I have plenty of paperwork and diplomas stuffed into boxes, but learned the art of diving from somone that never set foot in a scuba class. Find a mentor, thats where the very best of my knowledge came from.
 
At something like 500 dives I discovered that at 100, 50, 25 and before were all just differents points in a lifetime of learning.

The journey is as important as the destination.
 
pipedope:
At something like 500 dives I discovered that at 100, 50, 25 and before were all just differents points in a lifetime of learning.

The journey is as important as the destination.

So enjoy each point of the journey, get mentored by someone further along in the journey and be a mentor to someone earlier in it...

Tim
 
kidspot:
So what do you wish you knew earlier on in your diving career...

Everything....... That which I know now, so much more I have yet to learn, and the infinite more I will never know.


pipedope:
The journey is as important as the destination

Life is a journey - not a destination.

kidspot:
So enjoy each point of the journey, get mentored by someone further along in the journey and be a mentor to someone earlier in it...

Yes, I would say the "further along" and "earlier" quilifiers imply the direction the greater passing of knowledge will take. Who is to say who can mentor whom in any one area.

kidspot:
And other than dive, dive, dive what recommendations for learning those things?

Keep an open mind. Aside from tips mentioned, read books and magazine articles, observe and talk to divers, use forums such as this one, apply knowledge gained in other endeavors to diving when applicable. Experiment. We may do something 50 or 100 times, then unexpectedly, the next time we do it we become aware of a new perpective to help us learn a new skill or correct an old one. We may improve a known skill or gain a better understanding of the processes at work. This is not something to forcefully look for, it reveals itself. Keep an open mind.


We tend to see masters of their craft as experts of their craft, which they are. The best tend to see themselves as students of their craft, which they are.

Excuse me for being long on philosophical ramblings and short on specifics. May it strike a cord on some.

Scuba, student.

That was - student, period.
 
kidspot:
So what do you wish you knew earlier on in your diving career... And other than dive, dive, dive what recommendations for learning those things?

Seeking sage advice...
Tim

At 50 dives, I didn't realize my buoyancy control was as poor as it was. I thought if I could manage to stay off the bottom I was doing fine. Of course, nobody had told me by then that hovering actually meant not kicking.

At 50 dives, I didn't know squat about gas management. Oh sure, I understood all about Boyle's Law, and the balloon thing ... but how come I kept coming back from dives with 150 psi in my cylinder?

At 50 dives, I didn't really know how to be a good buddy ... I thought I did, but every once in a while I'd look up and my buddy wouldn't be where I thought they were. Sometimes I had to go to the surface to find them. Sometimes it was because they stopped to look at something and I didn't ...

In retrospect, at 50 dives I was just starting to get comfortable with the gear and environment ... I was the 17-year old kid who just got the driver's license and new car, and figured that because I could make it go straight on the highway at 80 miles per hour I really knew how to drive. The "6th sense" that helps us be aware of what's really going on around us ... and the "common sense" that keeps us from doing things that will get us into trouble ... didn't develop until much later.

Recommdations for learning those things? Find a good mentor ... or better yet, more than one. Most of what you truly learn about diving will not come out of a training course.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)
 

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