MOR
Quite agree about the nuances of the job. People like me thinking they know it all are just as dangerous as pilots who think they know it all (because we work at the level of the whole system).
The very best are those who are professional pilots and are also trained at the generic safety systems level - the best in the world in my view is the Chief Pilot of Aer Lingus.
Flexible Response.
" I pose myself the question; “What are the possible range of factors that can give rise to the type of visual illusion that will cause a highly experienced Captain and his qualified copilot to depart the high-stressed paved surface during taxying?”
If everyone in the industry asked themselves questions phrased like that first, then the whole industry would be a learning one, and one way we would know it would be that flame wars such as broke out earlier in this thread would not occur on professional discussion forums.