It may be academic but it is important to understand what is going on. I spend my life flying with pilots who set a power and an attitude and then seem to take another five minutes fiddling with throttle and trim because they haven't previously thought about what is happening. When they finally reach some form of stable state they then realise they are not at the altitude they want. So we then get the pitch up/down scenario together with associated airspeed change and the whol cycle starts over.
Who do I blame? Instructors wh will sign-off an Ex 6-8 in less time than it has taken to pen this message.