I don't think we differ on the basics, Gomer, but I must tell you that you are too simplistic when you say, "All I have to work with are the flight manual and the limitations. " Let me offer an example. If the max torque for takeoff is 100%, does that allow you to pull that torque from a ground condition in .01 second, with a collective jerk that pulls 2 g's? No, huh? How can you prove that jerk is not permitted from the entire package of flight manual and limitations available to you? It is written nowhere, yet if you did, you would harm the machine, possibly lose control and probably lose your licence.
Obviously, the skill of piloting is far deeper that the red lines. The red lines are part of a vast system of training, acceptable methods of compliance, judgements and tribal knowledge that can never be written down, let alone captured by a set of limits. The limits we use are the tip of the iceberg of how we do our jobs, and reliance on them alone is simply unacceptable.