You are what would be classified as a "divergent thinker."
The vast majority of people are convergent thinkers, meaning that they use the sum total of their knowledge to arrive at a singular conclusion. Schools are geared towards convergent thinkers, even our test structures focus on this metacognitive thought process.
Divergent thinkers (estimated 3% of the population), however, start at a particular point and move outwards. Instead of focusing their knowledge to come to a conclusion, they use their knowledge to examine the possibilities.
Some of the world's greatest minds are divergent thinkers (Einstein, for example). Nowadays, these children are labeled ADD or ADHD and drugged.
I kept insisting to my girlfriend that her son was a divergent thinker. He asked a thousand questions, always wanted to know "why," always followed a question with a question. This child is exceptionally bright and easily bored.
Exasperating, heck yes! But instead of trying to find an open school environment where he would thrive (I warned her that a typical classroom environment would stifle him), she chose a strict Catholic school first (which was a miserable experience for everyone) and now public school (more misery for everyone), and her son is medicated.
This is not to suggest that all divergent thinkers are brilliant and all convergent thinkers are not. You can find genuis in both groups, and average or below average in both. Still, we need to recognize that it's not only gender and age that impact learning, the metacognitive channels can be different, as well.
Thank you for your insightful comments to this thread! They tell me that my first sentence as a child was phrased in the form of a question and I still tend to approach problem solving by posing questions. I want to have all the pieces before assembling a response, if that makes any sense.
From the early years, I was proficient in language. After learning French, I moved on to Italian and then 'picked up' different Italian dialects. Language has always fascinated me, especially since words often get in the way of properly describing emotions. Here again, I find myself wanting to learn the ancient language that developed a thought, since contemporary translations often ignore nuances in the original language.