I've
always held the word 'No' in high re
gard. Apart from its structural simplicity
it's always stood by me like a good friend when I've
considered myself at risk in the face of questions like,
"Was it you who put live frogs in the lavatory
bowl?" or,
"Would you care for a second helping of boiled
broccoli and burned liver?"
But despite this status as the most important term that
folks can ever learn as far as their personal safety
is concerned, a simple 'No!' often appears
to be the most feared and least used word in diving.
Which is rather strange considering how much easier
it is to remember and understand than many of the terms,
formulas and technical definitions that pad out the
glossaries of diving manuals.
Knowing the proper terminology is, of course, a handy
asset for everyone who takes diving seriously. However,
it's even more important to understand the practical
significance of a term and its relevance to safe diving
practice; in much the same way that it's sometimes just
as useful to recognise who is saying something rather
than what it is that they're saying.
Diving purists, for example, refer to flippers as 'fins',
while grizzled old divers are still regarded as experienced
veterans for insisting on calling their fins 'flippers'.
The point being that what is said is of far less importance
than understanding what is meant!
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For
some divers, however, 'talking the
talk' has become an obsession; one that
blinds them to the fact that diving is a practical activity
made safer and more enjoyable when it's combined with
a common sense approach to the use of language. Especially
when a misunderstanding over what was said - as opposed
to what was meant - could have disastrous consequences.
It wouldn't, for instance, be sensible for a Dive Master
to introduce the Gas Law formulas into a dive briefing
and say something like, "On
your descent keep in mind that P1 over P2 times V1 equals
V2", when all
that was required was a reminder about the need to monitor
gauges more often at depth.
Acronyms
can be equally confusing. Diving has lots of them. AAS's;
ABT's; AGE's; ATM's; ATA's; BCD's; BT's; CNS'S; DCS's,
and on through the entire alphabet. Reducing names and
phrases down to their initials may be a convenient form
of verbal shorthand, but they're only practical when all
parties in a conversation know precisely what they mean
in the context in which they're used! And further muddying
the waters of intelligent and meaningful communication,
diving's also blessed with it's own fair share of slang
expressions.
Despite these apparent obstacles, most divers quickly
become familiar with the commonplace terms and expressions
in regular use. A few even claim to understand what they
mean! Sadly, however, it's a learning process in which
it's easy to forget the importance of simple language
and the value of phrases like, "I
don't know", or, "I
don't understand" - and even the difference
between "Yes"
and "No".
"So
when I asked, at the end of the dive briefing, 'Does everybody
feel confident about doing this dive?' and you answered
with 'Yes', what you actually meant to say was 'No'?"
"Yes! But only 'cause I was
confused by all of those acro-thingies and I was too embarrassed
to admit that I don't know my AAS from my elbow!"
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"And
then when I asked - just before you and your buddy entered
the water - 'Do you both understand the time, depth and
air supply parameters of this dive?', and you said 'Yes',
you really meant to say, 'No'? "
"No. I meant
'Yes' because my buddy seemed to understand what you said.
I didn't know that he'd said 'Yes' because I hadn't said
'No'!"
Fearing ridicule if they admit to ignorance or voice doubts
and concerns about their ability to carry out a particular
dive, there's a tendency among many divers - at every
level of experience - to put pride before their personal
well-being and enjoyment. Caving in to peer pressure they'll
ignore all of their instincts and say 'Yes', even when
their gut feeling tells them to say 'No'.
Which is just about as silly as me saying, 'Yes'
when asked:
"Was it you who put live frogs in the lavatory bowl?"
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