I attribute that more to having direction. Sometimes when learning things one simply meanders through a field, absorbing knowledge as they find it, and figuring

I attribute that more to having direction. Sometimes when learning things one simply meanders through a field, absorbing knowledge as they find it, and figuring out how to use it. When you have a concrete goal (I want X to happen), you can (usually!) figure out what you need to learn in order to make X happen.