Posted by JRM on October 18, 2000 at 19:13:10:
In Reply to: Re: Poor training or lack of experience posted by MHK on October 18, 2000 at 16:47:51:
MHK wrote
>>>You haven't been diving long enough to remember when a C-card really was earned and diver's weren't shuffled through the system.. You also need to understand that our actions are
not knee-jerk, we have watched PADI self-destruct right before our eyes despite of our repeated requests for responsible review. The downslide is staggering but you just don't have a
basis for comparision..
OK. Just for the record, I think that "good old days" stuff is crap. I use those kind of platitudes when I climb with some new dude and all his fancy gear (I've been doing it almost since birth). I usually run off about climbing some insane route (usually in soft sandstone or DG) with nothing more than actual hardware hex nuts slung with nylon rope. Truth is I was either scared to death or too stupid to be scared. Stuff is much better now. Gear is much better (and yes, I use the new stuff quite a bit). But the platitude isn't true. Granted, everyone was much more creative back then, but we certainly weren't safer.
It's that "you will never be as talented as us because you came in after all the gear (etc.) was good and certs were garbage" crap that really burns me. I'll happily accept "You will never be as experienced as us because there isn't any way possible you can dive as much as we have," and there's a lot of truth to that. From what I've heard of the "good old days" anyone with a fire extinguisher and a reg was underwater. And early on most certs were a joke. But you're right, I wasn't there. Heck, I wasn't even born when some of you guys started.
But I'll also point out the decline in training in general in this country. While at University I took classes in classical Greek. We used the same textbook that was used in some high schools in the fifties. Most of the class required a "English Primer" for grammer. Because the grammer training we picked up in our 4 years of high school wasn't even equivalent to the middle school of the fifties. I've strived very hard to get a "well rounded" education, and generally been laughed at for my trouble. I'm sure that the same "I remember when a college degree meant something", or "I remember when an Ham Radio license meant something (btw, I have my extra, and have since 1992, when the 20wpm code test still existed, now they just give them away)". Are we seeing any trend yet. If not, lets look at both the Greek and Roman civilizations. History repeats itself, we're just too busy to notice.
Personally, I blame TV, but that's another board entirely.
I will accept your opinion on the decline of PADI because you *are* more experienced than I. But please don't cite the "good old days and you weren't there" philosophy, cause I find that annoying.
JRM
-- stuck at work with nothing better to do than rant. It's been that kind of day.