I think people are working with an old-fashioned view of technique here, e.g. slabby, smearing, aretes, thin walls etc.Watching videos of the Woods, Robinson, Landman etc. generation I'm constantly struck by how differently (and well) they climb, using the whole body and a huge repetoire of techniques (compression, all kinds of hooks, bicycling etc.) to use very poor holds to cross very steep ground. For someone who's been climbing for a very long time its clear they climb in ways unimagineable even relatively recently. This sort of technique is patently trainable on boards.
It's a bit crazy when you have to travel half way accross europe to apply the techniques you've aquired at the local wall. Obviously I know this a big generalisation.