Yeah I hear that. As to the guy that was dropped though, he was missing something that can't be taught, is really what it comes down to. Besides being able to recognize the symptoms and executing the trips, you still have to have a certain intuition. For example, out of the bazillion alarms alarming, you need to be able have your gut tell you which on is key. But, on top of that, he had the self defeating attitude you mentioned. When he made a mistake, there was no recovery and the last thing you need is a guy melting down in the middle of a scenario.
For my final exam crew, I was put with 2 guys that were just like you, except that they hadn't figured out how to stop thinking like an engineer yet. It became clear real fast why I was put with them. I tend to be pretty aggressive during a scenario and if I see a guy waffling, I don't have a problem grabbing him by the scruff and dragging him through the scenario. By the end of that 2 weeks, those guys stopped trying to out think the scenario and on game day, they brought their A game. Also, my strength is being able to zero in on that one alarm or indication that is really driving the scenario. That allowed me to help them stop over analyzing and react better to what the plant was doing. I was very proud of our performance last week, my team really brought it together when needed and it was a lot of fun doing the exam with them.
Justin