apushatayid, indeed the modern mind had a hard time with the simanim. I’ve heard so many Drashos and lectures from inspirational speakers, who seemingly have a hard time believing that Chazal, and reinterpret the simanim as a mussar reminder or its a (once-a-year type of) Tefilla.
I think we’d get a lot further if, instead of changing things to match our world view, we would delve into understanding the big picture that Chazal are coming off.