Comment by simonw

There's a big gap between being able to ask questions about something and understanding something.

The more things you understand, the higher the chance you'll spot a situation to use them in the future.

I think the best innovations come from times when someone is uniquely able to combine two of their previous experiences together. The more experiences you have in your back pocket the more combinations you have access to and the more likely you'll have a unique combination when the right problem comes along.