Originally Posted by
DA Aquamaster
I agree that the ability to think, to incorporate lots of information from a variety of sources and to understand complex relationships, and to be able to do it under pressure, is the hallmark of a truly exceptional cave diver.
I am a psychologist by training and a Program Evaluator by trade, and an understanding of why people feel they "know what they know" and how they resolve conflicts is often very helpful in both fields.
Some people "know" based on Authority - someone with credibility said it so it must be true. That someone could be Jesus, the President, Shek Exley or GI3. Most people start out that way. When your parents say "because I said so" it is usually good enough when you are 5 or 6, but not so much as you get older.
As you age and mature you start using other ways of knowing such as the experience and experimentation to see "what happens if" (basically the scientific method).
You also start using logic to make inferences from one event to another and you even use predjudice as it helps you process large amounts of information quickly. (If I burned my hand on a stove once, I am probably going to "pre-judge" and always assume the stove is hot until I confirm otherwise - its not fair to all those cold stoves out there, but it's the way it is as we are hard wired that way).
And many people also start looking at philosohy to help piece together a bigger picture of how things relate. This becoems very crucial when confronted with complex problems or situaiosn where rules may conflict or where no rules directly apply.
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Kohlberg talks about moral and ethical development and it relates closely with how people come to know that they know.
To simplify it, the earliest stage of development is authoritarian where you do what you do because someone told you to do it and they'll punish you if you don't.
As you advance you focus on the rules - you do it because the book or the rules tell you to do it, and you generally believe in the concept that without the rules we'd have big problems and/or chaos. Most people operate there most or all of their lives.
Eventually, some people get to the stage where they realize that the rules are often in conflict, result in a less than optimum outcome or do not fit some unique situations - often in the form of an ethical dilemma. At that point people start to be guided not by the rules, but by the larger purpose the rules are supposed to serve. Doing that requres a great deal of experience and an understanding of what the rules are trying to promote so that you can make judgment calls regarding when to apply or ignore the rues, and if two rules are in conflict, what rule to break and which one to follow. Not everyone ever gets there. And even a person who operates there most of the time will fall back to the lower levels when in unfamiliar territory.
As applied to cave diving:
"I am going to do what my cave instructor telle me to do, becasue he will fail me if I do not" is probably pretty common on day one of Cavern or Into Class for most new cave divers as their experience is limited - they don't even know yet what they do not know, so they rely on authority.
As the cave diver advances, they learn the rules and they apply them. As they gain more and more experience they begin to see both the costs and the benefits of the rules and consider not always following them. (This is a true danger zone, as you may know a lot, but not enough to fully understand the risks and downsides.)
And, in a full cave class for example, the instructor is not only assessing whether you follow the rules, but whether you can also think, so you can no longer rely on authority as that "authority" may intentionally lead you off on the wrong line to see if you are aware of it and if you call him on it.
Also, diving at the Intro/full cave level you begin to see the full impact of some of the ethical dilemmas you may face. If you have a lost buddy, how long do you stay? How much gas to you use? How close do you cut it to exit? There are no cut in stone right or wrong answers as it is very dependent on the specific situation and you need to rely on the higher principles involved, not just the rules, to make a truely ethical decision.
On the other hand, you need acknowledge the danger zone and be very careful to ensure that you are breaking the rules for a higher purpose rather than just because of complacency, stupidity or ego. Complacency is the negative side effect you acquire from breaking a rule or rules on a regular basis and getting away with it. The sad fact is that you learn a lot more from the stuff that almost kills you, but you only learn it if you survive, while "success" teaches you very little and what it teaches you is often very misleading.
Similarly, stupid cave divers may break rules for really stupid reasons, like busting thirds because they are sure soemone else will call the dive in the next couple hundred feet and they do not want to be the hoover that thumbs the dive. Cave divers can also break rules due to a lack of confidence or due to a desire to fit in. He or she may not call the dive when they exceed their comfort level as they are afraid they will not be invited to dive with that group again. The "higher purpose" in that case is acceptance, but it is not a purpose worth dying for and it is not worth risking the lives of your team mates.
So in short, when operating at the level where you take the rules with a grain of salt, you need to be very wise, you need to see the big picture, and you need to be very, very good at predicting unintended consequences. And you need to check your ego and any hubris at the door as at that level, in a cave environment, humility and really knowing your limitations is all that is keeping you alive.
I'd argue that fewer than 10% of cave divers out there can safely operate at that level and I'd argue that 90% of the cave divers who feel they can, in fact can't. Some of the egos in this sport are monumental.
