You are required to achieve a certain depth and breadth of knowledge in the ATPLs which you just have to learn,
When ATPLs were ALTPs and invigilators wore tweed jackets with patches on the elbows, we had to decode a symbolic weather report and plot the system on a square meter of paper. I agonised over mine, rubbed the low out and moved it a couple of inches right and up a bit. The invigilator picked mine up and said quietly, 'some times the first ideas are the best.' I scraped through.
I found the met much easier to read in the 60s'. It just seemed natural, but as it changed it either became more obscure, or my brain had already started to fade. It just didn't leap off the page anymore. OKTA is such a nice word.
During the 60s they posted a bazzillion letters to my old home, some of the contents were pink, usually telling me to keep my carb heat to hot despite the loss of power. When I moved in 1970, nothing I could do would make them readdress these gems.