Keith, the mindfulness of the air molecules was just an attempt to simplify that the theory that an air molecule above the wing has to speed up in order to arrive at the trailing edge at the same time as an air molecule below the wing is completely fallacious. What I meant was, air molecules only know about the proximity of nearby molecules, and all basic physics can be explained on that basis. They certainly don't know or care where the trailing edge of the wing is, or how far they might have to travel in order to get there. And sorry to play the man like that. I just hate seeing this incorrect theory continually perpetuated. I too, was taught the Bernoulli theory of lift as a 16yo, and didn't question it until later in life.
Think of a pipe, which splits into two smaller pipes, which are then rejoined into a single pipe. However, one of the two pipes is longer than the other, and follows a wiggly path compared to the shorter straight pipe. Now pump air down those pipes. Is the air in the longer wiggly pipe going to travel faster because it has to further to go? Of course not. What an absurd suggestion.
Probably a simpler explanation is to forget the aerofoil for a minute and just imagine an inclined plane (flat plate) moving through the air. The air molecules under the plane get squashed together, increasing pressure. Behind the plane a void is created, until the air molecules above the plane rush in to fill that void, leaving an area of low pressure above the plane. Yes, it is as simple as that. A 5 year old can understand that concept, and they can re-create the void effect in the bathtub with their hand. The bath-tub experiment uses an incompressible fluid, but it demonstrates the principle at play, and is readily understandable. It is actually a far simpler explanation than Bernoulli and is the correct explanation.
Bernoulli then dictates that the air molecules below the plane will slow down due to the higher pressure, and the air molecules above the plane will speed up due to the lower pressure. This is true, however it is not this speeding up or slowing down that causes the pressure change. It is the pressure change causing the speed change. The lift is caused by the pressure differential, and the Bernoulli effect is entirely incidental.