For much of my professional career, I kept a sign posted on the wall of my office - as a reminder for me and as food for thought for others - that was titled, 'Signs of Stagnation'. It consisted of seven bullet points:
- 'We've never done it that way.'
- 'We're not ready for that.'
- 'We're doing all right without it.'
- 'We've tried that once before.'
- 'It costs too much.'
- 'That's not our responsibility.'
- 'It just won't work . . .'
In retirement (from my professional work, not from scuba instruction), I keep it on the wall in my 'scuba den' at home.
I do believe that we are all at times subject to succumbing to one or more of these mindsets. Our task is to recognize the insidious development of such attitudes, and break free of them. Frankly, too many dive shops, and too many dive professionals, fall prey to one or more of these attitudes. And, that development has caused a conspicuous shift in the diving industry: as one example the closure of (too) many dive shops which 'were not ready for that', or which were 'doing all right without it'.
I have no trouble directing students to SB. I do not worry that they will read something that might cause them to question what I have said, or taught, or done. In fact, I
want them to come back and ask me about what they have read. If I am afraid that they might learn something that I DIDN'T teach them, or that is different from what I DID teach them, I am going to be unhappy much of the time.
Scuba instruction is not stagnant - it continues to evolve. Perhaps, the rate of evolution is too slow for some (or too fast for others), but the evolution will continue. In fact, several posters in this thread have been particularly instrumental in positively advancing that evolution - boulderjohn, for example, in his persevering, and ultimately successful, efforts to encourage one particular training agency to revise its approach to teaching, and embrace a 'neutral buoyancy' environment. He, and some other instructors, had to forge ahead of the 'average' instructor, in order to promote improvement, and those improvements now work to the benefit of many divers, who will become the new 'average' diver. Just because that is not the case today does not mean they won't be in the future.
Scuba equipment design and configuration is also not stagnant, and it too continues to evolve. Maybe, SB is to some extent a 'very tech heavy tribe'. Maybe, some technical divers have had to forge ahead of the 'average' equipment configuration, to find more efficient, more functional, better, safer gear configurations, so that the 'average' diver can now consider those configurations because they are now commercially available. I have already said that gear doesn't make me a diver - my skills and my attitude do that, and I make my gear work for me, not the other way around. But, that doesn't mean that I don't benefit from a gear configuration that makes it easier to achieve good buoyancy and trim, that makes it easier to move more efficiently through the water because it is far more streamlined, etc. I have specific mechanical reasons, for example, for using a metal backplate (and a wing), and I articulate those reasons to divers when I recommend they try a BP/W configuration. I don't care if it is not (yet) commonly used by the 'average' diver, or that it may not have been what they trained in. I have very specific reasons, for example, for preferring to use steel cylinders, and I articulate those reasons to divers when I recommend that they consider using a steel cylinder. And, I don't care if steel cylinders are not (yet) commonly used by the 'average' diver, or that it may not have been the cylinder that they trained in, or that many shops have available for rental. I also clearly point out that I am sharing my personal preferences, and what works for me may not be what works for everyone else. But, I also point out that those preferences are based on extensive research and analysis, and trial and error, and diving experience. And, if someone else chooses NOT to use what I use, that is absolutely fine.
If I had adopted the attitude of 'I've never done it that way before', or 'I'm doing all right without it', or 'Its costs too much', or stayed away from SB because I was told that it would cause me to question - even challenge - what I had been taught, I would have never had a chance to advance to the point I have reached, or continue to develop into the diver that I someday want to be. I really don't care what is today's 'average'. I do care about what I am today, and what I want to be tomorrow, and what I want to inspire my students - and fellow divers - to become in the future.
Anyway, he goes on to tell me how bad ScubaBoard is. First, he tells me that we are in league with DIR. He then recites a litany of falsehoods that I wish I could remember them all now. I think I posted about it once, but my memory fades. He finally tells me that GI3 hounds everyone on SB that doesn't dive DIR. I assure him that this is not the case, since I am a dedicated Stroke as well as the owner of SB and that while he's a member, GI3 has never posted on SB because of a promise he made. He just doesn't believe me. Sigh.
