BOAC, you provide important views of these issues (#128).
Seduced by psychology? I hope not; just one of many alternative views that I strive to understand.
Your post reflects many others in this thread, with the apparent inability to define ‘facts’ such as normal or expectation. Also note the lack of explanation as to how pilots might avoid these unwarranted situations; but that everyone else can*; e.g.
“I would have known”, “it’s obvious”, “would be readily apparent”, “do we need to ask” – not just your words.
The words (feelings) indicate aspects of knowledge and particularly the application of knowledge. These identify with
‘tacit knowledge’. In aviation this is often described or included within experience, airmanship, or professionalism.
Thus we all know what should be done or what not to do, but have difficulty in explaining it. This suggests problems in training, but we should not overlook cognition;
“the idea that certain cognitive processes and/or behaviors are inaccessible to consciousness.” – see web links.
The words associated with tacit knowledge might provide further insight. Note that these aspects also appear in the thread, often veiled under ‘the individual’, ‘nation’, ‘organization’, or ‘culture’:-
Perceptions, ideals, values, emotions and mental models so ingrained in us that we take them for granted.
Individual experience, intangible factors, personal beliefs, perspective, subjective insights, intuitions, and hunches.
Though they cannot be articulated very easily, this dimension of tacit knowledge shapes the way we perceive the world around us.
Earlier I recalled being taught 'airmanship' but knowing how; this is typical of tacit knowledge. Thus we might consider what form of training enables the necessary understanding and if that still applies today.
Does the industry have an ‘apprenticeship’ scheme; do experienced pilots mentor junior ones, do we always brief / debrief, or question ourselves. How long does it take to become experienced; is there time.
“Effective transfer of tacit knowledge generally requires extensive personal contact, regular interaction and trust. This kind of knowledge can only be revealed through practice in a particular context and transmitted through social networks. To some extent it is "captured" when the knowledge holder joins a network or a community of practice.”
IMHO the issues underlying this type of incident are in these areas; modern operational scenarios are more resource demanding, require greater awareness, there are more limits and procedures, less time both in the air and on the ground.
Problems thrive on change, thus we could focus more on what has changed, particular the gradual aspects, which we might not have noticed or fully understood the consequences.
Knowledge
http://proceedings.informingscience....4/050maqso.pdf
*
I exclude the tools such as rules of thumb, gates, alt/distance tables, assuming that there are known, and focus on the mental process which enables their use.