Tapestry or Patchwork Quilt?

It occurs to me that knowledge can be seen as a blanket - We slowly build it throughout our lives and each piece of information is a thread that weaves in and out of the previous understanding of life.  As we grow and learn, the blanket gets larger and the design is more intricate.

As we attend school, we face a certain amount of Rote Learning
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rote_learning

As we get older, we are expected to take the facts we've learned and apply them to different situations.  This works for many people with varying levels of success.

Now, suppose that knowledge takes the form of a patchwork quilt, not a woven piece of art or blanket. This is closer to my experience.  Learning lots of information on a variety of subjects is something I enjoy and excel at - It's applying that knowledge to complex situations that is the trick...

Think about the first time you put on rode a bike - you don't have to understand how the chain works with the gears and tires in order to ride a bike.  You need some balance and enough speed to progress forward without the bike falling down... and I imagine most of you had the hands of a trusted family member or friend holding the bike while you got started like I did... Once you get going, you experiment with speed, different gears, terrains, and on it goes... This is weaving the tapestry.  It relies on an ability to take bits of information and apply it to a new circumstance - like the first time to climb a hill.  If you try to ride up the hill without gearing down, you may be able to do it but it will be much harder. After you've experimented with different gears and speed, you realize how much easier it is when you gear down right before you start to climb.  Later on, you see a garage door that is attached to a pulley system or you use a lever system like a wheelbarrow and you learn the principles in all the devices are similar.  The gear on a bike, size of the wheels on a pulley, or length of the rope or lever is what helps you accomplish the task at hand.

My patchwork quilt contains many squares from other outdoor activities, music, art, chess sets I've made, tv shows, politics, history, literature, and psychology.  Do you have a tapestry or a quilt?