There are a lot of nice answers here talking about math generally, but I can offer a specific answer. This is a paper that generalizes a lot of things, and you

There are a lot of nice answers here talking about math generally, but I can offer a specific answer. This is a paper that generalizes a lot of things, and you have to understand the specific things for it to come across as an insight instead of a pointless abstract thing. Not knowing any specific thing and trying to learn the generalization is like trying to know Netwon's laws without relating them to any physical situations.