Interesting watching this from the sidelines as a new pilot with a whole 100 or so hours. I think in all occupations or pastimes you get martyrs for their particular cause.
I'm a professional musician and the music forums are exactly the same as this one. Just swap Piper and Cessna for Les Paul and Stratocaster or wind on the cheeks versus glass cockpit GPS for valve amp and Pod XT Live.
Peter bangs on about his GPS, others bang on about using nothing but a bar magnet and the feel of the wind on their cheeks. (Which cheeks I hear you ask). There's a guy I know who eschews GPS as white man's magic and reckons anyone who can't navigate by the way the wind blows across a field of corn shouldn't be flying. I'm being facetious about the field of corn but you get my point.
I asked him if he used a DI and he replied that of course he did. Phwaah I said, bloody techno man. I think he got my point.
I can't understand (my daughter is convinced I have Asperger's) why people can't just use whatever they feel they need to use. They are P1, Commander of the a/c. They are responsible for it's safe passage through the air, let them use whatever they feel safe using. Frankly I couldn't give a stuff how people navigate as long as they do it safely and keep a good look out.
For the record, I have everything possible switched on and tuned in, including a GPS, plus a stopwatch hanging off the yoke and a map with everything marked on it. Belt and braces? You bet.