"Do these considerations offer useful insights for the average person living [ver] life?"

I would say yes, the overcoming bias project is useful for laypeople--it's changed my life, at least. I don't read these posts as being about becoming a great scientist. I realize the irony of quoting "TMoLFAQ" in the comments to this post, but "[t]here's no such thing as science": rationality is about forming beliefs that are actually true, and plans that might actually work. Advancing the frontiers is a special case.