>>it’s rather inevitable that your technical ability will eventually start to fail you.
It’s not that. There’s a video out on this class of warships and they are really a technological wonder. I’ve worked in industrial automation for my whole life, starting in the US Navy and then through a career in manufacturing and utilities. When the documentary got down to the engineering spaces and they were showing the high-tech used down there, I got cold chills. That sort of stuff is great in a fixed location where you can drive home at the end of the day, but I prefer the ship’s engineering plant to be tried-and-true mature technology.
Another problem that started with Spruance and Ticonderoga classes is the amount of automation gave too few crew members to fight the ship and conduct damage control. That level of automation also resulted in too many problems that could not be fixed underway. Additionally to many desk warriors did not realize you can’t use smart machines and dumb operators.