Episode
SH308: We Know, and We Say Nothing
- Published
- Sep 16, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1075
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://www.thehumandiver.com/
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Summary
This episode explores why experienced divers still die in situations that seem predictable, using the tragic 2026 Maldives cave accident as a starting point. It looks at how outcome bias, the normalisation of deviance, nitrogen narcosis, group dynamics, and silent drift can gradually erode safety margins without divers realising it. Rather than focusing on individual mistakes, the discussion explains how everyday decisions, accepted norms, and human psychology combine to create risk over time. It also examines what divers, teams, and the wider diving community can do to recognise these patterns, challenge unsafe habits, encourage open communication, and build a culture that learns from accidents instead of simply accepting them as bad luck. Original blog: https://www.thehumandiver.com/post/we-know-and-we-say-nothing Notes Concept formalised by Baron, J. & Hershey, J. C., "Outcome bias in decision evaluation," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 54 (1988), p. 569-579. PDF available: https://www.sas.upenn.edu/~baron/papers/outcomebias.pdf Vaughan, D., The Challenger Launch Decision: Risky Technology, Culture, and Deviance at NASA , University of Chicago Press, 1996. Publisher page: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/C/bo22781921.html Lock, G., Under Pressure: Diving Deeper with Human Factors (2019); see also The Human Diver ( https://www.thehumandiver.com ) and the documentary If Only… ( https://www.thehumandiver.com/ifonly ). First systematic experimental demonstration: Behnke, A. R., Thomson, R. M. & Motley, E. P., "The psychologic effects from breathing air at 4 atmospheres pressure," American Journal of Physiology 112(3), 1935, p. 554-558. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1152/ajplegacy.1935.112.3.554 For an overview, see Nitrogen Narcosis In D…