I view PA as a commonly espoused "modus" or "technique".
Thus PA is a "system" by which the espousee's make money.
The OODA , adopted by Steenbarger from it originator, John Boyd, a famous fighter pilot instructor, introduces most of the nuances and baggage of PA "traders".
"differentiation" occurs as a consequence and the OP refers to this "differentiation" with many terms to tell his story.
PositScience's Brain Fitness Program in a well conceived way deals with inducing Thinking Faster, Focusing Better and Remembering More... This seems to be the definition of improving PA skills and the intrinsic knowledge upon which it is based.
As OODA shows, there is an inductive aspect (a sort of curve fitting common mistake) in the D and A portions. All PA traders recognized fully this is where "they do their thing". I won't characterize it with "my words" but it is uniformly characterized by several (3 major ones) ancillary things that go with and are made part of PA trading to deal with the inherent problem of being inductive in one's work and orientation.
The consequences of the mind building that occurs and the way it affects perception is stark and revealing. The OP is making the case as we see.
The elephant in the room is a dilemma. Induction in PA trading creates a perception that the human emotionally and continually finds deep needs to deal with. (The anxiety, fear and anger of PA trading). Steenbarger makes a living remediating this with his client population.
As for the ATS's of PA trading, they unremarkably, are spoken of as things that come and go as the market continually changes (they say, by no longer fitting the original curves).
Three things are apparent:
1. Using an inductively based feedback system for trading is a no no.
2. Perception is 90% inference from the mind's feedback that is merged with sensory (and emotion creating) 10% PA observations. (Inference is described by the OP using the word "instinct")
3. Differentiating the mind through repeated PA inductively derived drills (the act of trading daily) is a no win proposition, mentally and emotionally speaking.
What does Steenbarger do to affect repairs? LTD.