Like someone else who has already said what I'm about to say, I wouldn't actually underestimate the amount of time and effort it takes to become well-versed in flight hacking. By definition, once a skill is sufficiently developed, it requires minimum effort to use.
I'm 100% sure I'd be shocked if every hour related to my FF research (articles, forums, going through actual booking processes) was tallied up - it would probably, literally add up to weeks of full-time equivalent work. It's just that for us AFFers, it's an enjoyable past time. I agree that at a high level of mastery, it certainly is a case of doing 'small things' for 'maximum benefit' - but it took a lot of work to get there, and we never really stop either. Some people will always have reasons not to get into the game - my parents would also fall into the category of your so-called 'lazy whiners', using this example.
But that's why they have me