I'm going to stick my head in the proverbial 'lion's mouth' here and ask this question...
How many people take PC Flight Simulators too seriously?
I'm not out to belittle the knowledge that some of us have, but just because I have a DC-7C manual on my mantle, it doesn't mean I can fly it...
Yes, in my younger days I wanted to pursue a career as pilot but life took me in a different direction. I did put quite a few hours towards a PPL and did have several, fortunate, opportunities to spend time in a full motion simulator for a major US airline (back in the days when airports were friendly and welcoming)... But I would never presume, that given a disasterous situation, I could just run up to the cockpit and suddenly become Karen Black.
I have FS2002 installed on my computer at home, but no matter how 'complex' the software may be, it's still a game. (I cannot help but recall a recent 'Simpsons' episode where Homer tried to pack the car with garage sale purchases because he was good at 'Tetris').
I can sit at my desk and 'fly' a 12-hour flight, but no matter how accurate a PC setup is, I think it's safe to say that it's trivial in comparison to someone who is able to control hundreds of tons of aluminum, fuel and flesh through the air, and where there is no option of a pop-up window to ask if you want to 'try again' should something go wrong.
Before fingers start flying across keyboards, I will agree that the basics of certain skills can be learned through this method, but only to be refined in a more controlled and realistic environment.
I can't help but wonder if this type of discussion took place when 'Flying the Big Jets' was first published?
William