This has been a pretty interesting thread. The fact that you're here reading an RB thread puts you well above the average rec diver, so far as interest in diving is concerned.
Most everyone here, I would bet dives locally and reasonably regularly. That puts you in a different category from the average rec diver.
I don't see where anyone has disagreed that flying an RB requires more cerebral commitment than OC.
Now let's look at the average rec diver. Statistically speaking, most dives that are done, are Not done by frequent divers. The masses of "dive 2 weeks a year while on vacation" divers do most of the diving. Since I'm in one of those locations they frequent, I can tell you that they pay little attention to much of anything for more than a moment. The DM's have to watch their spg's, half can't even manage that. Add something like monitoring PO2, and their brains would totally shut down.
People go on vacations NOT to think. They dive to escape and immerse themselves in a fantasy world for a little while. I see people who shouldn't be near a bathtub, much less the ocean. Some how, they survive OC diving. Mostly it's because the DM's set up their gear, make sure the air's turned on, and check their spg's every so often.
OC is about as idiot proof as going underwater can get. Which explains why there are so many idiots going under water.
Which gets us to why rb's won't make it into the rec arena ...... Dive Operators, being liability conscious, are going to resist rb use as much as possible. They aren't going to invest the $ to buy it for rentals, they don't have the time or manpower to break down and reprep a bunch of RB's between trips for a cattle boat full of divers. They don't have RB trained staff, and that could be a big liability issue if some one on their boat has a problem with their RB, and the DM in the water isn't trained to aid them.
For the majority of rec divers, if they aren't going to stay away from the water, at least staying away from RB's is the next best thing.
Living in paradise makes you cynical,
Darlene