Socialization is a necessary step for any progressive human society; we can build far more effectively together than we can as individuals. I agree that it becomes a constraining force in many ways; our prisons are full of people whose behavior necessitates shackles and chains. As far as I can gather from your post, however, the sociologists in question appear to be more concerned that creativity is stifled. The ‘reality that guides us’ is addressed very entertainingly in ‘The Matrix’; I find the subject fascinating.
In becoming pilots, we certainly become ‘channeled’, in that we learn a very specific set of behaviors and thought processes that allow us to transit from A to B in one piece; very little room for creativity, even less for error.