I agree with all of that. That's part of why I feel that my biggest barrier to progress right now is simply not playing enough. I make a lot of elementary mistakes (i.e. the kind I can see instantly during the game or self-review), and they're usually what decide a game. There are plenty of mistakes that I don't see, that require a stronger player to spot, but I can improve a lot just from preventing the easy ones. Heck, I could improve a stone or two in strength just by removing one or two blunders from each game.

I think my game from last night is a good example. Through the first 100 moves or so, I'm dominating. But I make a really elementary error (failure to protect a cut in a fit of blood-lust) that makes it a close game. Then around move 185 I start getting just goofy, forgetting that my group is connected via some dead stones. I did win, because my opponent made even more mistakes than me (e.g. move 214!), but still; after my first few attacks, it could have been a 50 point game, instead of a 10 point game...

On the other hand, I enjoy the "studying" aspect of the game as much as playing. And the intuitive parts of the game are the most interesting to me. So trying out a particular fuseki scratches that itch for me and makes things fun. After all, if things aren't fun, what's the point?

But I'd like to play about twice as many serious games as I'm playing right now. Playing more will reduce the number of blunders, just from the nature of practice. It will also improve my "go endurance". Many blunders come about because I have trouble staying focused and serious through the whole game (either I'm sleepwalking through the opening, or I get sloppy later on, or forget about the big picture.)