Even though I do have a college education, I am an autodidact, and have been since I was a kid. If I want to learn something new, I read everything I could on the subject, then start talking to people who actually do that thing, comparing their opinions with what I read. I do this on everything from competitive pistol shooting, to designing FPGA digital logic, to building post-frame buildings.
Indeed! Our experiences seem similar, although I tend more towards the arts.