All Episodes
Episodes
SH188: The Status Quo Bias. We don’t like to change
Status Quo Bias is the tendency to stick with familiar choices, even when better options exist, and it impacts decisions in many areas, including diving. From Coca-Cola's "New Coke" failure to nitrox's initial...
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SH187: The risks we take. The decisions we make. The lessons we MIGHT learn.
This episode dives into the complexities of risk, decision-making, and resilience, blending personal experience with critical lessons for divers and beyond. Host Gareth Lock recounts his journey from peak physical...
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SH186: Being Efficient? Being Thorough? Which One Did You Choose?
This episode explores the Efficiency Thoroughness Trade-Off (ETTO), a concept by Erik Hollnagel that explains how we balance being thorough and efficient in everyday tasks, including diving. Using relatable examples...
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SH185: “Whenever there is any doubt, there is no doubt.”
This episode dives into a powerful, real-life story of a cave diving incident that highlights the importance of psychological safety, trust, and clear communication in high-stakes environments. The narrative explores...
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SH184: Why change is hard in diving
Why do we do things the way we do? This question is at the heart of a story about a family’s tradition of cutting the ends off meat before cooking—a habit traced back to a Great Grandmother’s small tray. The tale...
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SH182: Joining Dots is Easy, Especially If You Know the Outcome
In this episode, we discuss the complexities of learning from mistakes and adverse events in diving and beyond. Using real-world examples, including a technical diving error and a high-profile medical case, we explore...
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SH182: My Biggest Mistake: Context Driving Behaviour
In this episode, we explore how context drives behavior and how mistakes can happen even to experienced professionals. Sharing a personal story about a diving oversight, we examine how time pressures, language...
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SH181: “Blame is the enemy of safety” - moving from blaming to learning
Mistakes, slips, and lapses are a natural part of human performance, influenced by factors like training, time pressures, and equipment design. While rule-breaking may seem deliberate, it's often shaped by context,...
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SH180: Challenger Safety: As an Instructor, don't I lose control?
In this episode, we explore how instructors can balance leadership with fostering psychological safety in diving education. Psychological safety, defined as a "rewarded vulnerability," is crucial for creating...
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SH179: How and Why Checklists Work
In this episode, we explore the importance of checklists in diving, inspired by lessons from aviation and medicine. After a tragic 1935 plane crash, pilots introduced simple checklists to reduce human error—an...
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SH178: The Importance of Experience: Expertise is different to Experience
Experience and practice are crucial for making better decisions, especially in uncertain situations, but they aren’t the same. Perfect practice builds expertise, while varied experiences across different environments...
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SH177: We see what we think we’re looking for
In this episode, we explore how human perception and assumptions can lead to critical errors, using real-world examples like the tragic 1994 friendly fire incident where two US helicopters were mistaken for enemy...
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