Interesting subject....for me Budgie69 sumed it up in His/Her 1st Para.
Doesn't matter to much (provided it's safe)what we do so long as we all do it the same, eitherway the job gets done( Flying before you say it!!) OK maybe some systems are more efficient than others,Imagine flying a fleet with Hundreds of People all doing the job differently. SOP's evolve through Environmental, Regulatory, Cultural needs, Manufactures recommendations, Experience (hard knock's) and other factors, until we operate in a Homogeneous World I believe it is probably better to "taylor" each Operators SOP's to suit their needs.
Regardless, SOP's are a tool designed to enhance safety.
I tend to think to much (SOP) talking is a case of "less is more" particuarly in the critical phase of flight, One can "switch off" particuarly if you are flying multi-sector days in/with trying conditions/people. the Altimeter thing sounds like a throw back from the "Black & White dial Boy's"
Agreed nothing "gets my Goat" more than Instructors teaching and grading "Technique" as SOP. The same goes for poorly written Memo's/reports/SOP's etc, this has long been an indication that Pilots are not Academics, infact at times they are barely literate, (myself included!)The Maint log is usually testimony to this. Anyway m2cw...
"Select Flaps two zero or to zero???"