sonicbum
I return to why? What you're proposing is learning for the sake of it. Education for its own sake is a perfectly worthy aim, but it adds nothing to the day to day operation of an aircraft.
As the holder of a degree from a top university, I can 100% vouch for an ATPL having no equivalence to rigorous academic study. There is simply no comparison. That's not to say that one qualification is better or more worthy than the other; they serve completely different purposes.
As to your second point: I was chatting to a mate who was a journo for The Telegraph and The Sun among others. Airline pilot is considered by the media in the UK not to be a profession equivalent to medicine or law, but rather a skilled trade equivalent to plumbing. It is a vocation rather than an academic discipline.