Originally Posted by
langleybaston
You really don't mean anthropomorphic do you?
oops, corrected.
Originally Posted by
quantify
Isn't being able to learn quickly an innate skill as well?
Combination of "nature and nurture" according to the av psychologist types I worked with. Claiming it is only "innate" is a post hoc kind of opinion (again, based on what those folks taught me). The other point you make is true for any flying training, and is a good one: being teachable and being open to learn.
And sometimes, one discovers mid to late in training that they've hit the ceiling, or have hit a plateau.
If the Air Forces and Navies of the world had a better way to drop in the old dip stick and figure out whose aptitude matched the needed traits best, they'd be using it. There is a lot of screening that goes on, but the final test is on task as the demands increase.