Jurassic Park
Thank goodness the world has moved on from the days when all pilots had to be capable of delivering "The right stuff" 24/7 (or at least rather die than admit otherwise). Sad to see some pterodactyls still roam the skies
The latest iteration of human factors (CRM) is as close as I have seen to defining that elusive level of common sense that some of us call airmanship.
Pilots need to :
a) Anticipate and manage threats to the operation.
b) Manage crew errors. In the past all training was geared to minimising errors - with little attention being paid to the fact that if humans are involved, errors WILL occur.
Clearly technical proficiency (stick and rudder skills) remain very important. However, "optimal" use of resources - such as a sophisticated autopilot allows maximum brain capacity to be dedicated to threat management.
Simply put, read the crash comics and consider the likely threat levels. (e.g. Non - precision approach, night, bad weather, complex arrival / departure, busy CTA, tired crew etc).
In high threat environments such as the above - use all available resources to free up your brain so that you can actively manage the situation.
In low threat environments - practice your hand flying. (The simulator is the ultimate in "low threat" environments).
Be safe
PJ88