I think understanding stellar processes and then using that understanding to theorize about other observations is a skill. My point was that observing can be a fantastic way to build a skill.. not all skills, but certainly some skills. Learning itself is as much an observation as a practice.
"No-one has ever learned skill just by reading/observing" - Except of course all of those people in Cosmology who, you know, observe.
what skill do they have? making stars? no they are skilled at observing, which is what they do.
I think understanding stellar processes and then using that understanding to theorize about other observations is a skill. My point was that observing can be a fantastic way to build a skill.. not all skills, but certainly some skills. Learning itself is as much an observation as a practice.