And in my view it still is an art. By that I mean, a process of self improvement, a pride in doing things well. An understanding that when you make an error, you try and learn from it. It appears to me, as life changes, the golden years of aviation created an aura, a can do attitude, a pioneer spirit. This has waned into the past.
During the post-war period of interest many societies have attempted to make
everything in society a paint-by-numbers 'program' versus a creative, personal journey with outcome depending on performance.
I'm very happy to go against the tide in that regard and profit from it. Some are not, even in aviation.