Re yr #134, HC, I remember you telling me about that French SID and I believe I said, "Excellent practical solution, but would you have passed an OPC blindly following a SID out of the FMS without time to find the supporting plate?"
I think your remarks suggesting that if only pilots could be bothered to achieve your level of expertise there would be no problem, are a bit severe. No doubt you put in a lot of work to achieve the eminence and reputation you have, but you need a particular aptitude to start with and we (the trainers) have to provide guidance for those less gifted. From where I sit, automation distracts people from the big picture and commits them to a disproportionate amount of time, and detail, "verifying" that what they THINK they've asked the aircraft to do is what the automatics are about to do.
I am aware of some studies which suggest the next generation of automation will be prioritised towards monitoring what the pilot does, not asking the pilot to monitor what the automation does. I think that would be a better way.