I completely agree with you, but as someone as have gone multiple times for 10-day courses what I like best about that is the organization/community as a whole, I learned a lot from serving maybe even more then just sitting actually my first glimpse of Jhana was while serving, you also have access to a very experienced teacher to talk and ask questions, and that its all free and the food is excellent, so really helps a lot. If you are able to do a course by yourself I have no doubt it can be a much deeper dive into reality.
Something that is in the core teachings of Vipassana for me is that everything is just a matter of perspective, there is that no-judging perspective where you find equanimity everywhere.
I totally agree that a community centered effort, with expert teachers etc, would be exactly what a lot of folks need. I have no problem with whatever structure works for anyone.
I was just pushing back a bit against the "only way" phrase in the paper. I'm just saying, from direct personal experience, that one can learn on one's own.
There is the essence, and then there are the superficial details.
e.g: you don't really have to sit cross legged on the floor to learn the technique, just because ancient Indians or Burmese people did.
You can sit on a chair or stool, with your back straight, and feet flat on the ground, hands on your knees, and your meditation (Vipassana, Jhana, whatever) will work just fine.
This is not to say that learning to not move around in a painful position isn't worth learning, just that it has little to do with the core technique itself.
When you learn by yourself, (as you correctly point out) some things are easier, and some things are more difficult, than when learning within a community structure.
As I said above, I really enjoyed reading the paper.
Something that is in the core teachings of Vipassana for me is that everything is just a matter of perspective, there is that no-judging perspective where you find equanimity everywhere.