Diver Dennis
Contributor
JeffG:Well then...don't listen to what I am saying because I'm an idiot and not a mind reader.
I'm glad you said that...
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JeffG:Well then...don't listen to what I am saying because I'm an idiot and not a mind reader.
TheRedHead:I think Stephen Ash is spot on.
catherine96821:I am a "take it or leave it diver" and am open to anything DIR offers that I like. Love the gear, the long hose, the minimalistic function-oriented equipment.
I don't think the rigidity it requires brings anything to the table for me. For example, the other day my post regarding SMB attachment to my eclipse D-ring was pulled. Holding a camera with strobes, and blowing the SMB for our captain on drifts would not work as well packed in my backplate pocket. I can almost do it one-handed and it seems really silly to me to follow what works for another diver and the need to be conforming. The generalized notion that if it is clipped on my butt, it will somehow be less of an entanglement issue just makes no sense. I enter wrecks and can see for myself how I might get caught, and I prefer to have it in close proximity to my opposing thumbs, in direct line of sight. The x-shorts create so much drag and seem to be just another item to market, and sell to divers who have been told that this is THE way to carry an item.
The word "fundamental" says it all because fundamentalism connotes certain characteristics whether art, religion, etc. I prefer the option of diving solo at times and adapting to a given environment or even dive culture. So far, I have observed DIR divers often do not make decisions the way I think, but rather follow a set of protocols.
The other thing that I feel is dangerous about DIR philosophy is that often their minds cannot encompass other's views. For example, many threads in Basic Scuba often turn into long discussions of "the DIR" approach to a problem...which is fine because I like to hear all views. But then in the DIR forum, the DIR divers don't really want (or allow) any discussion outside the realm of the DIR way. It is not reciprocal, which is acceptable to me, but I want to be free to choose from a much broader set of options. I like thinking for myself, and to follow a pre-determined set of solutions actually detracts from my diving enjoyment. I am not a conformist in my approach to anything else--it does not fit my identity. Having said that, it is intellectually very well thought out and superior in many ways so I try to get exposure when possible.
I think Stephen Ash is spot on. Most divers don't care if they make a butt-first descent as long as they eventually get to tool around the reef and get back in the boat safely (usually thanks to a DM herding them).
I would speculate that many of the people interested in taking the class have an interest in technical diving, even if they don't initially admit it to themselves.
TSandM:Again, to try to get this back on track . . . I didn't ask why people don't want to take Fundies; I asked why people who do, or might want to take Fundies aren't doing it.