What is an octopus?

[Wildcard]

I once had a rather heated debate with a little psychopath I used to live with about this very topic. Her inst in Montana told her to call it an Octo therefore it was and nothing would convince her that it came from the whole rig being called an octo. Man she was a scary diver! I expect to read about her in accidents and incidents some day soon.....Octo is just a bad thing to call it. I vote for A.S.S..... I have called them that for a while now. As in "honset honey, I was looking at her Alternate Second Stage".

 

[wolf eel]

This is how I see it.
Valve, first stage. Second stage is your reg. next is a safety or alternate reg. And then the hose's for either your BCD, or Dry suit. And all of that is a Octopus. Which should be turned into a diving rig or set up. The idea that a alternate air source is an Octopus is a pain.

 

[jonnythan]

The way I see it, when all of the scuba manufacturers who make the stuff refer to a backup second stage as an octopus, that's what it is. It may have come from the mess of hoses coming from the first stage, but an octopus is a backup second stage, end of story.

 

[DandyDon]

The way I see it, when all of the scuba manufacturers who make the stuff refer to a backup second stage as an octopus, that's what it is. It may have come from the mess of hoses coming from the first stage, but an octopus is a backup second stage, end of story.

This may well be a futile discussion but I don't see it as end of story.

I suggest that allowing the manufactures do this is part of the problem.

The Training Agencies need to maintain leadership in the sport, and they have a central council that they all adhere to. Why can they not address this at that level, then ask all Agencies, Manufactures, and divers to embrace newly developed clarification definitions...??

 

[jonnythan]

Why can they not address this at that level, then ask all Agencies, Manufactures, and divers to embrace newly developed clarification definitions...??

Because it doesn't matter. When someone says "my octopus," everyone knows what that person is talking about.

It does nothing whatsoever for the industry to change the common meaning of the term octopus and forcing a new definition for it would cause nothing but problems and confusion.

The *only* reasons to insist on this definition is because you think it makes more sense or because that's where the term originated. But it doesn't matter. It means what it means and everyone gets it.

IMO

 

[mstevens]

Because it doesn't matter. When someone says "my octopus," everyone knows what that person is talking about.

It does nothing whatsoever for the industry to change the common meaning of the term octopus and forcing a new definition for it would cause nothing but problems and confusion.

The *only* reasons to insist on this definition is because you think it makes more sense or because that's where the term originated. But it doesn't matter. It means what it means and everyone gets it.

I can get as pedantic about language as anyone alive*, but I must strongly agree with you on this one. In real life, usage determines meaning. It's as simple as that.

*here are some examples:

The past tense of "to dive" is not "dove" (that's a bird). It's "dived." The past participle is also "dived." People get confused with "drive" (drive, drove, driven) and want to use "dove" as the past tense. If they kept the past participle in mind (nobody says "If I had diven with the correct equipment, the dive would have been more fun") then there would be less confusion. I will bow to usagists about this one (everyone I know says "dove") but will continue to use the correct term in my own speech.

The plural of "octopus" is NOT "octopi." That reflects a poor understanding of etymology, since octopus is not a Latin second declension noun at all (singular -us, plural -i). It's Latin stolen from the Greek oktopo(u)s in which the "pus" (the plural of which is "pedes") refers to foot. The most correct plural is "octopedes," but in English "octopuses" works best. The name of the order is the Octopoda (still not octopi). I usually say "octopuses" and get looked at funny, especially by those who know I speak Latin and think I've undergone a brain fart. Everyone I know says "octopi." http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/000813.html

Even if you only have one arm (which is the body part between the shoulder and elbow. The bit from elbow to wrist is the forearm), you still have "a biceps." There's no such thing as "a bicep." I will not budge on this.

Medical diagnostic terms such as "schizophrenic," "psychopathic," and the like have specific technical meanings, and one may not simply co-opt them for use when one wishes to lend an air of authority to one's insults or other pronouncements. (It's likely best not to get me started on the distinctions among schizophrenic, schizophreniform, schizoaffective, schizotypal, and schizoid.)

And on and on and on... (See, I'm flexible! I began a sentence with a preposition!)

 

[knotical]

And on and on and on... (See, I'm flexible! I began a sentence with a preposition!)

or a conjunction

 

[Nostromo]

I think the problem is that the word "octopus" is borrowed and not a brand new word or term, thus people have a preconceived idea what an octopus is. You can hardly blame somebody that is new to the sport to hear the word octopus and pick up the thingy with all the appendages hanging off it. Its a no brainer. Personally I think the term should be changed. The backup second stage is what it is, and I think that's what it should be called, by everybody.

e.a.e.

Because it doesn't matter. When someone says "my octopus," everyone knows what that person is talking about.

It does nothing whatsoever for the industry to change the common meaning of the term octopus and forcing a new definition for it would cause nothing but problems and confusion.

The *only* reasons to insist on this definition is because you think it makes more sense or because that's where the term originated. But it doesn't matter. It means what it means and everyone gets it.

IMO

 

[jonnythan]

In my class, my instructor said "this is an octopus, and its name derives from the fact that the first stage started to look like an octopus when divers in the 70s started attaching backup second stages and so forth."

I got it and everyone else got it..

 

[mstevens]

or a conjunction

Um, I suffered a brain fart. Yeah. That's it.