I always find it fascinating how varied the rule knowledge, theoretical knowledge and practical knowledge is between pilots. You have vast differences in knowledge gained and retained, and it really shows sometimes. The line isn't drawn along "college | no college", "airline | CFI", "135 | 121", "Professional | amateur", "Bookish | PilotMan", or any other natural division I can determine.
I've never been a fan of the european style "theory", "air law" crap... but perhaps.. just perhaps ... there's something to actually understanding all of this stuff that we could sure as hell do a lot better in this country.
I still think American pilots are the best pilots in the world (In no small part 'cause I'm an American pilot, and because as an American I've been trained from childhood to think that way), but I'm a little dismayed when I read various aviation fora and see OWTs spread like absolute truths, mythological thinking postulated as fact, voodoo theory, and theory discussions with absolute, quantifiable answers just a short bit of reading away.
This isn't directed to anyone in particular, and I'm not saying "All you poor souls". I'm saying one thing, and I'll try to make this succinct:
Take pride in your knowledge, and never stop learning.
It's easy to fall into routine, and become far better at that routine than if you had to think about it every step of the way. Sinking things into your subconscious is a great way to perfect them, and coming home at the end of the day and forgetting everything you knew about aviation until the first flight of the next day is sorely tempting, yes.
But being a professional means never resting in the pursuit of knowledge and ability, and never just accepting an explanation without looking for yourself.
-Fox