On Wednesday, October 11, 2000 10:29 AM, Mike wrote:

(snip)
> The attitudes that you touch on in the article are all too real and
> seen everyday in this 'sport'. I suspect that all of us here have been
> guilty of them at one time or another. :-)

Mate!  I know that I have - and thankfully survived to learn from the
experience! :-)

> I believe that I am often guilty of not thinking enough prior to doing
> a relatively simple dive in the grand scheme of things

It's probably true to say that the biggest challenge that divers face is
that of over-confidence.  The 'simple' dives have invariably proven to be
the ones that've claimed the most lives.  Once people have mastered the
neccessary skills to scuba dive there's a tendency to become quite blase
about the equipment and their ability to use it at even shallow depths.

They'll happily buy equipment - regulator's, masks, etc. - based on price
alone and on the grounds that they're only going to do shallow dives.

But present a hypothetical scenario in which they're required to enter a
compartment filled with toxic gas, one whiff of which will cause a horrible
and painful death, and tell them that they have a choice of breathing
systems; a cheap one that functions almost as well as more expensive models,
or one that costs twice as much, and see what price they put on their safety
and well being! :-)

>and also of
> thinking entirely too much prior to doing some of the more
> challenging dives.

It used to be claimed that an active imagination was a diver's worst enemy!
:-)

Strike