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> maybe it's time another agency step up and "pet the pony" so to speak, >and offer real certifications. let's cut all of the horseshit, there only >needs to be three of these certifications; nitrox, a no bullshit course >which teaches you everything you need to know about nitrox; technical diver, >a course which teaches you decompression techniques, included o2 accelerated >deco; trimix, a course that teaches you how to dive deeper then 130' using >helium in your breathing mix. if the iantd's of the world won't get it right >then it is time for someone else to do it the right way. - dick Dick, You've got my vote. I'm a big "KISS" fan (Keep it Simple Stupid) and have been a little perplexed by the plethora of courses, which *on their face* appear redundant. What really is the difference between "Nitrox" (recreational?) and "Technical Nitrox"? The physiology is the physiology and the math is the math! If people didn't learn this stuff the first time for the "non-technical" nitrox course, then why in heavens did they get issued a card? If the training agencies aren't teaching the nitty-gritty that divers need to know, then why are they in the business? I must confess that I've done a hell of a lot of medical reading about the physiology of gases (and nitox), perhaps for that reason I feel that more than one "nitrox" course (IF DONE RIGHT) is redundant. The "non-tech" nitrox course I took looked as if conceived more by lawyers than physiologists. (if you need to cover nitrox in a deco scenario, then lets just teach deco as a "bail out" skill for non-decom divers like the British do and get it over with! (the cutsey term "mandatory safety stop" used by recreational training agencies sounds like it's there to keep the lawyers happy... frankly it's a deco stop and to call it anything else is so much...) But I hear you Dick, if you cut out all the BS and cut right to the chase and taught what divers really need to know... AND TAUGHT IT WELL... AND TESTED THEM TO MAKE SURE THEY KNEW IT COLD... and like the Brits not be afraid to FLUNK OUT THE ONES WHO DON'T, you could set up a 3-core curriculum as you outlined. The story goes that PADI was started by two guys bemoaning the state of diver education while standing around a Texas bar. If enough people feel as you do, perhaps the time has come to step up and "pet the pony" as you say. It's been argued in the past that we see a finer and finer splitting of courses as an excuse for the training agencies to make more money. I am perhaps too naive to think that is so (but I am becoming more cynical with age! <g>) What I have a hard time with is spitting up a knowledge base of very inimately interactive skills and information and fragmenting it into a myriad of courses. A "3-core curriculum" if done right, is worthy of consideration. The trick is WHO desides what is right? And, that my friend is where the flame wars will begin! ;-) Robb W ==================================== CDR Robert B. Wolov, MC, (FS), USNR Orthopedic Pathology / Aerospace Medicine Dept. of Orthopedic Pathology Armed Forces Institute of Pathology Washington, DC 20306-6000 wolov@hi*.co* (preferred) wolov@em*.af*.os*.mi* -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send list subscription requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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