At the very least, (s)he would have had to understand the main ideas to deem them interesting (though perhaps the details were difficult to follow). So yes, you

At the very least, (s)he would have had to understand the main ideas to deem them interesting (though perhaps the details were difficult to follow). So yes, you're right that it isn't technically a contradiction. The way it was written did come across to me as intelectually dishonest at the time, though.