The thinking diver-your evolution as a student

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Cami Walker on January 12, 2009 at 12:49pm

thank you for sharing this. I'm just getting ready to take Rec 1 here in LA and reading this makes me feel like I've chosen the right agency for my training.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by James Mott on January 12, 2009 at 1:52pm

I think it is important for people to understand that proper underwater education should strongly encourage the experience building end of the class. Too many people want to go from snorkeling to 200’ technical wreck penetration dives within the first year of diving. Although there is certainly a lot to gain from additional classes, without the experience in the real world environment you are really cheating yourself and the education you are receiving.
The thinking diver builds experience in different environments within the limits of their education, in order to draw from later on. The situational awareness that you mention Doug grows along with the divers experience building. I believe it is this ability to correlate your experience that separates us as thinking divers.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Brian Wiederspan on January 12, 2009 at 6:04pm

Great info Doug and James.

I agree that experience is a critical, though often overlooked, aspect to evolving into a thinking diver. The key is getting out and diving, at the level you are trained to....not beyond that level, but not a level much lower as well. You need keep yourself challenged. You paid the money to be trained and that level, now dive!

If you don't build experience, and simply move from one class to the next, never doing the next level of diving on your own between classes, you have nothing to draw on.

You're memorizing your training, and not really thinking. There's an enormous difference.

Great topic.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jeanna Edgerton on January 12, 2009 at 7:08pm

I like what Doug said about questioning your instructor, and think it should carry on to your team and those with which you discuss diving. Too many divers do what they are taught or told without understanding why. Without that understanding, it is almost impossible to apply the knowledge that you THINK you have learned to knew diving environments or situations. Any good instructor or team member will take the time to explain their reasoning and give you the opportunity to learn rather than memorize.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Douglas Steding on January 12, 2009 at 7:48pm

Yes Jeanna, I totally agree-I was trying to get that across in the team discussion, but probably not that clear.

Having that "uh, how would we do that differently" conversation after dives is a great way to build the "muscle memory" that allows you to build on a depth of experience (which, to be clear, I don't think I really have).

Good conversation, thanks to those that have pitched in.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Lynne Flaherty on January 13, 2009 at 8:39am

I think a big part of the ability to think underwater is to have your basic skills down so solidly that very little of your conscious brain has to be given over to managing the simple act of diving. It's much like learning to drive a car -- When you begin, you have only enough bandwidth to handle recognizing when you need to shift gears, and trying to adjust revs to do it smoothly. Ten years later, you do that while drinking coffee and talking on the phone, and watching the signs for the offramp you're looking for . . .

Diving often, and demanding improvement from yourself (and, as Doug says, getting feedback on it from your teammates) is the way to build those solid basic diving skills that free up conscious processing to notice your environment and make good decisions.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Eric B (Sockmonkey) on January 13, 2009 at 8:49pm

After thinking about Doug's post for a while, I find the term evolution very fitting.

I'll offer my perspective on being a thinking diver from one who has stopped dragging his knuckles but also isn't quite walking upright yet. What I've found so often on most DIR/UTD/PDQ discussion boards are many wise insights from experienced team divers as well as a bevy of questions from newer folks. As of this writing I'm here to represent the middle. I speak to those hunched over and slightly on the left of the evolutionary scale. Those of you who I dive with have probably heard parts of this rambling from me before in person or on another board.

Allow me to start off with a headline "Worry Less and Have More Fun"

Seems like a simple concept no? For me, until this fall, this simple concept became simple reality once I looked back on my diving history. Until learning the concept of situational awareness I wasn't aware that I had so much control over my time under water. I either had a good dive or a bad dive and sometimes I never knew why.

How was it that on some dives I was the only one who didn't find any cool stuff? On another dive at the same spot, on the same day, the water teemed with the tiniest of creatures. Why did I use an insane amount of gas some dives but other dives my lungs were like those of a baby bird?

I credit an instructor from another team oriented agency for opening my eyes to the concept of situational awareness. One of the first slides in his DIR day presentation asked the question "Why do we dive?" In big bold letters it said "To Have Fun." I thought ok wow, please tell me how to have more fun. Damn straight I want to maximize my fun underwater. And why didn't my OW class tell me I was there to learn how to have more fun?

Continuing with the conceptual, let's think about our annoying habit of driving while talking on the cell phone. You stare straight ahead intently but everyone knows that you're not looking at much more than the lines in the road. Maybe you're looking at the car ahead. Your rearview mirrors are ignored and if a car was creeping out from a driveway you probably wouldn't notice until it was right in front of you. Ever strain to listen to a sound? I always feel foolish when I look up and away and tilt my head. In fact it's tough to not look away when you're trying to listen to a faint sound. Why?

From conceptual we move to practical example. I had a freakout at one of Seattle's regular dive spots (I'm not a cove2 commando Doug) a few months ago. We were halfway through the dive and in 50 feet of water and I decided that it was time for me to get to the surface as soon as safely possible.

The progression went like this…

"Am I floating up from putting too much air in my wing? Maybe I’m underweighted."”
“Where are we? How far until we reach shallower water?"
"Do my buddies know where they're going?"
"Is there a chance they'll head deeper?"
"Where did Casey go?"
"Did I add too much gas to my suit?"
"Oh no am I going to be able to vent my suit?"
"I can't get the bubble out of my feet. I hope I don't cork."
"My computer is beeping. Why is it beeping? Am I going to get bent?"
"It's still beeping."
"I'm too buoyant and can't stay in trim."
THUMB!

This is an extreme real life example of an agitated diver in the very start of his use of doubles. I can assure you (and my regular team) that I'm not always that much of a woody allen under water. Starting at “Where are we?" I no longer had any bandwidth left to look at the fishies. I was spending most of my mental energy straining to hear a faint noise and not watching for cars entering the roadway (just for the sake of mixing metaphors). Following the lead diver(s), not corking, and staying off the bottom was enough to task load me. Tunnel vision to the max. And when I couldn't get neutral I was fighting to stay horizontal. My breathing got out of control… and then the thumb.

Lets put my original headline more succinctly "More comfortable = more fun"

The biggest dive quality of life improvement purchase I've made are my dry gloves. (my can light runs a very close second) I wasn't aware but cold hands not only increased my gas consumption but having dry hands relaxed me to the point of making a noticeable dent in my situational awareness. I'm only guessing that my cold hands put me on edge and forced me to worry more. Dry gloves put small GPOs and teeny pretty nudis into focus. I became relaxed enough to see all the funny stuff my team does underwater.

Imagine you could erase worry and discomfort. What's left? A vivid underwater highway to observe at your leisure. Suddenly there is space in your noggin for the thinking portion of the thinking diver to live. Instead of looking at the road (or rather fishies, wreck, cave structure) what if you needed that brain power to take care of an emergency like an OOA diver? You've got beau coup brain power, that once worried or performed tasks that should be second nature, to devote to getting your team mate your long hose. Or maybe rather than worrying about X you can shut down a valve… make an unplanned ascent… and so on.

What does the IntroToTech powerpoint call out as constant leaches to our attention? I think it's what Doug mentioned as The Team, Environment, and Equipment. You can find each one of these things taking up precious bandwidth in my panic progression above.

So that's my main goal as I begin IntroToTech this week, to train and practice, practice and practice the blood sucking leachy stuff. That'll help me to grow basic skills so I may continue to allow myself to devote less energy to worry and more to enjoying myself (oh and to swim with a deco bottle too).

-Eric

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jeff Seckendorf on January 17, 2009 at 8:21am

Hey Eric, great insights. One of the things we always talk about within the structure of UTD training (shameless plug about to happen) is the idea of small steps within the building blocks. Situational awareness is a process that takes some time to develop, and it's important to realize and accept that. Strapping on doubles and a can light doesn't make you more situationally aware...it makes you less, as all of a sudden you've added complexity, which requires immediate focus. Same with team awareness - when you first start to focus on the team, you can lose track of yourself. But slowly you acclimatize to your new equipment, your new environment, and your brain returns to being able to manage the dive with the higher level of complexity you just built in.

Which is a long way of saying take your time, have fun, take small steps and, the most important thing, enjoy the process of learning. There's no need to blast through training to get to a goal and miss all the fun of the journey.

Looking forward to your class report.

Jeff

• ▶ Reply

▶ Reply to Discussion