No matter which computer or table you use, the algorithms they are based upon are only as good as the real world data that was used to design the algorithms they use. To my knowledge, nobody has devoted any real effort in the last 20 years to verifying the empirical data used to create the tables past the original research done to create the RDP. Dive computers leveraged off this information, and the data from the tables in order to create their internal algorithms.
In the DAN and BSAC accident yearly reports, there are very few cases of DCS reported every year. Of the ones that are reported, most seem to fall into either the tech/deco side of things, or the recreational diver that didn't follow/didn't have a proper plan to avoid DCS. As far as the goal of preventing DCS goes, it appears that the RDP and computers are both very effective.
Tables are great for a simple to use and carry, time proven method of calculating deco. They give you everything you need to plan a simple dive at a very low cost. They add conservatism by counting your dive as all being completed to the max depth.
Computers have been proven equally as reliable as tables, although much more expensive. They do a great job at applying an algorithm to an exact dive profile. This lacks the inherent conservatism of tables, but most dive computers seem to make up for it by including more conservatism in the algorithm itself.
About half of my dives to date have been with computers, and the other half with tables. I've never been bent. I've suffered from user error twice while diving a computer. I've never planned a dive wrong when using tables. The most common error on tables is ending up with a pressure group off one way or the other. Not that big of a deal in the big picture. The most common error with Dive computers seems to be having the wrong O2 %. This has potentially greater repercussions when O2 Toxicity concerns are taken into account if someone is relying solely on their computer and not thinking about MOD, etc on their own.
I think the tables are a great learning tool even for divers who choose to use tables.
I also think tables are a viable solution for any diver. While there are an infinite number of profiles possible, the actual profiles most divers actually dive tends to fall into a very manageable set. By identifying the most common profiles you do, you can cut a set of custom tables rather easily which are very simple to use for 99% of your dives. You can only do this if you really understand the tables, though.
Tom
