Any correlation to diving?

[BelchFire]

Like any measure in life, there's nothing sacred about that 500th dive that makes the 501st dive any different. It's more in 1_T_Submariner's analogy, "lots of dives". The main thing (at least to me) is to know your limitations while safely increasing your experience level. Would I have more respect for a diver with 500 dives under his belt than I would for a diver with less than 100? In the absence of all other facts, probably, but ultimately it depends on the diver and their attitude toward safety. Yes, I think a greater number of dives increases one's knowledge but only as far as that diver has invested in themselves (training and diversity). The sheer number is meaningless to me.

 

[Colliam7]

Am I beginning to become too cavalier in my approach? How would I know? ... How do you measure it? Is there a crossroads where a diver is “good enough to get into trouble”? Or are these simply urban legends & I am reading too much into them?

In general aviation, there are at least some compiled statistics available that suggest a window of opportunity for problems - complacency, recklessness, unsubstantiated self-confidence, OR perhaps simply having enough experience to begin to try more challenging flights. The average total time when the student passes the check ride and becomes licensed is around 50 hours, the experience level at which a private pilot is at greatest risk of an accident is actually closer to 150 hours than 500 hours. In diving, the topic is debated, but even with DAN data, it is harder to define the window or threshold because accident information is not uniformly or consistently reported. The fact that you are thinking about the possibility of complacency, and questioning how you could tell if it creeps into your diving suggests that you have not reached that point. Your comment about being nauseous reminds me of a related experience. Several years ago, I was at a popular climbing spot in NC, waiting for a climbing team to ascend a route so my buddy and I could climb it. The lead climber was on the rock at the start of the route, and seemed to be rather nervous - lots of almost extraneous motion, looking for handholds, repositioning his feet, before actually moving up. My initial reaction was, this guy is very inexperiened, too inexperienced for this route. But, I thought he looked familiar. When his buddy then called to him by name, I realized he was a very experienced climber, who had actually written climbing guide books about NC sites. About that time, the climber looked down at his partner and said, 'I still get butterflys at the start of every climb.' I still get a little anxious every time I stride off a boat into the water. I hope I always do.

 

[themagni]

It's not diving; it's not flying; it's every skill. It's the same reason why everyone thinks that they're an above-average diver.

Basically, when you judge your own skills, your reference is your own skills that you're judging. Here's a link to a study that is worth a read.

http://www.apa.org/journals/features/psp7761121.pdf

The paper is titled, "Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One’s Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments"

 

[Colliam7]

It's not diving; it's not flying; it's every skill. It's the same reason why everyone thinks that they're an above-average diver.

Your're right. And, those divers live in Lake Wobegon, where where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children, er, divers are above average. Interesting paper, BTW. Thanks for posting.

 

[themagni]

Heh, I actually meant to say "above average dRiver", not "diver". I guess it works either way, but I really did mean driver. Everyone thinks that they're above the curve.

It's colloquially referred to as "wearing the juice" due to the quote in the abstract of the article.

 

[I Dive]

I have a very simple and effective way for you to find out if your skills are still good. Take a SCUBA review course...

 

[The Kraken]

In all endeavors such as flying, diving, motorcycle riding, etc., at some point, if the participant is not constantly aware of his/her actions, complacency will creep in and bite one on the butt.

Complacency kills.

Don't do your pre-flight or pre-landing check, one of these day's it'll get ya.

Don't do your pre-dive buddy check, dive plan, one of these days it'll get ya.

Many who engage in more dangerous sports/hobbies begin to become complacent after some period of time because they feel as if they've "mastered" the activity. But no one masters fate or Murphy's Law.

And so on . . .

the K

 

[TSandM]

That's a VERY interesting article, and I think it's given me some insights into some of the people I see in the ER . . .

 

[h90]

That problem exists in many different things...just made the driving license.....after a while diving people think they are already perfect.
Same with climbing, with going caves and most probably diving.....Wouldn't stick at 500 can be more or less....

 

[NudeDiver]

Some things have changed. I don’t get nauseous when I put on my gear any more (because of nerves). When diving with less experiences divers, I don’t get tension headaches any more.

Just a new diver here - but if I were getting nauseous when putting on dive gear and tension headaches when thinking about getting in the water, I think I would give up on diving. I like to dive because it's relaxing. If it were all stressful - forget about it. That's not to say I've got a cavalier attitude - I think about safety and I try to be safe - but being all stressed out isn't fun either - and fun is kinda why I engage in this hobby.