Please do enlighten me as to when, in day to day operations, I am required to use my in-depth knowledge of the physics of flight, or meteorology, or general navigation?
Which category would you place the pilots of AF447 in John? What about the pilots on TK1951? More recently, what will you say about the pilots of QZ8501?
How many fatalities would it take to negate your thesis?
Commercial aviation today stands on the shoulders of those who have gone before us, made mistakes, and not been protected from them by the incredible machines we fly. There is so much latent safety in a modern commercial jet, the mind boggles. Much of which we don't even recognise or appreciate.
Your view of life in the flightdeck is a reductionist one, for sure. Sounds like you're giving yourself heart-burn.
The industry has done it that way, because (and this is where I do agree with you - no need for a huge degree of self-importance here), we're actually pretty good monkeys.
However, my understanding is that, recently, it is Loss Of Control incidents that now form the major proportion of air transport accidents. Whilst many of us at the sharp end of the industry have been talking about the "de-skilling" going on in the flightdeck for a while, it is only now that the issue seems to have gained an appreciable degree of traction.
So why is this?
I'm hopeful that, in the past, knowledge I have tried to acquire outside the "core airline curriculum" as a result of what I'd call "professional pride" will now become more and more mandated. In addition, I believe it will be important for the industry to try and re-design the machines we fly so that they allow us to keep current the skills which become so important when we actually need to "fly" the aircraft.