But whenever I have learned maths in strict lemma-proof form it was on the second time around. That is, I first had a general sense of the field and intuition

But whenever I have learned maths in strict lemma-proof form it was on the second time around. That is, I first had a general sense of the field and intuition about concepts and some of the results, and then rigorous stuff makes sense. From everything I've read about how mathematicians work, I thought that was normal.