Posted by John Walker on May 03, 2001 at 23:05:30:
In Reply to: Re: Is it possible that you are really this stupid??? posted by Steve on May 03, 2001 at 19:26:22:
Steve, let me ask you, does your computor know the difference between your physiology and the next guy who buys one. You said that most of you weekend warriors can't take a risk of getting bent. How does the computor limit that? Does it have a probe that you stick into you body somewhere?
If a computor would keep me from getting bent then I would use one all the time. Hell, I've been bent following a computor directions more than once.
Does the computor know how much O2 or N2 your absorbing? Does the computor know how much fat your body carries compared to the next guy who uses the same computer?
Let me give you some food for thought. Many years ago (around 1871) a person by the name of Jaminet suggested that dehydration was a major cause of DCI cases and noticed that on an average DCI victim had a reduction in blood plasma by 50%.
Is there some way for your computor to tell if you are hydrated properly?
In 1959 Brian Hill showed benefits of slower ascent rate than are commonly used by exposing Okinawan's to 2/3rds of the Navy's recomended ascent rates. This is not something that you will find with most diffused gas models, unless you can manipulate the theoretical M-Value. And just about ALL computor use diffused gas model(s).
Some people retain gases, such as Nitrogen and CO2. Some people do not. This can depend on individual physiology, workload, and breathing equipment.
Fat is a tissue that varies greatly form one individual to the next. Nitrogen and CO2 are both highly soluble in Fat. They can also be retained at an unestimated rate. A computor has no idea of how your body will uptake or release these gases. Computors are nothing but underwater calculators.
CO2 levels can effect both O2 tolorence as well as effect decompression outcomes. CO2 is believe to increase narcosis as well as predispose one to an oxygen toxicity hit.
CO2 can also load up the gas transport mechanisms preventing other gas transport form taking place.
The best option in my opinion is to not get use to relying on a computor and learn something about decompression theory v.s. your own physiology. We are all different, and no dive computor can tell the difference. You will need to take some courses to get this, and I am sure you will see the light of why relying on a computor is not such a good thing. Getting closer to understanding you hyperbaric position is.
John Walker