I had a thought here. The thing is, Catholics believe that the church is infallible in matters of faith, including, presumably, the correct interpretation of scripture. So Catholics believe that by relying on what the church teaches, they are getting "The Truth". From the Protestant perspective, the church and its leaders are just as fallible as Joe Bibleguy down the street. So (again from the Protestant perspective), when a Catholic believes the church's interpretation, they are getting a second-hand understanding of scripture from someone who is just as fallible as they are. To the Protestant, you are better off reading the scripture yourself, studying it firsthand. Correct. You'll notice that in my example, all of the Protestants immediately warn me about "counterfeit" money. Simply put, a Catholic view is predicated on the Church having the Truth, and the Protestant view, like you said, is that anyone's view is just as likely to be right or wrong as their own.
Given that predicate, I too would more likely trust myself. But even then, there is the conservative idea of giving respect to the thoughts of those before us, so I don't think I'd be quick to shuck tradition.
SD
But even then, there is the conservative idea of giving respect to the thoughts of those before us, so I don't think I'd be quick to shuck tradition. There is a saying in Reconstructionist Jewish thought that "the past has a vote, but not a veto". This is probably the way most Protestants function in practice. The island example is a hypothetical; none of us learns in complete isolation.