Not Understanding Special Interest's Meaning

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I always took that quote to mean that, although we may learn massive amounts of information on a subject, we don't always back that knowledge up with the prerequisite knowledge needed to to fully understand and apply the information. I think this is simply a side effect of a mind with frequently changing interests. For someone who has had the same special interest for an extended length of time, they may acquire that background knowledge. But for someone like me who changes special interests more frequently, it would be nearly impossible to acquire applicable knowledge in every special interest I take up.

My interests feel more like a cognitive addiction/obsession. I think about 24/7. I can't wait to get home to read motre about it. When I'm out with friends, I'm still thinking about it. If someone starts that topic, I get excited and will keep talking about it until they get ticked of at me, sometimes.

This is true for me.

I read a lot I learn a lot of information. I don't always understand why one thing may be better than another but I will research why until I figure it out. I will spend hours. I remember i spent 10 hours reading and thought i was only reading for perchance 4 hours. I noticed the time and was throughly surprised.

Frankly, I think the original quote is a viewpoint problem. What certain things mean to me is often very diffeerent from how others understand it. Case in point - I have been "accused" by others in Linguistics of being "data-oriented" - that is, knowing a lot of facts but not seeing or having any interest in the implications for linguistic theory. I see patterns, I am interested in language history, and THEIR lists of facts seem to me jumbles, THEY to me miss the obvious implications.

Comes down to - they fail to see the meaning THAT I SEE.