6D- You must be only reading posts from that side of the building community. Some of us have been saying quite the opposite fir years. We do say that the ability to see in 3D, the ability to trouble shoot, the ability to self teach from other's experiences, the ability to step back and take a break (and maybe ask for specific help), the ability to have a more experienced person class you in person, the ability to accept failure and be able to move on and try again, and so on is important to building in the beginning.

While just reading the posts from the most experienced members is great I suggest that looking at the posts of the beginners is better at showing the wrong/more problematic methods. It's like siting in on a advanced level course then complaining about who hard to understanding it is. If you sat in on an entry level class first some foundation would be learned first and that advanced class starts to make more sense. Not the best metaphor but I think it gets the point across.

I also think you're mixing up some of the message from those experienced builders. I have found them to be quite willing to teach and suggest how a beginner gets going but they do tend to be pretty harsh when it comes time for that beginner to go pro. This point is when the claims for experience and tooling are focused. I see the difference in their advice and willingness to be helpful to the beginner and their concerns for their industry's reputation/value and rider's safety.

After doing this stuff for 35+ years I still have questions and am willing to give the best answers first. Andy.