This mindset is then carried further to the "airlines"
Rubbish. Pilots behave like they do (and different to engineers) because this is the type of personality (on the average) that is attracted to piloting. Expecting pilots to change their personality en mass is as useful as telling a depressed person to cheer up.
G/A type operators have always made hay out of pilots weaknesses. Pilots are not in a position to practice any effective disobedience in the pointy end because their arse is strapped to the machine hurtling through the air. In G/A pilots cope by trying to move on as quickly as possible and hopefully end up with a quality operator as quick as possible. It has nothing to do with Grandmothers!
IT IS AIRLINE MANAGERS that have decided to carry the mindset of GA management into airlines - not the pilots. Point the finger at the right people. Our idiot managers think that there is no cost benefit to the quality methods developed by their predecessors. I think you are right that nothing short of smoking hole in the ground will turn this around. Idiot airline management appears to viral and highly contagious.
Good on Joe for having a go at pointing a few things out.