Theory vs. Practice

Highflyer is an absolute chess addict and often plays it online on an app multiple times a day. When we were in Tyrol, I got him to teach me the game (someone had already shown me when I was a child but I forgot everything for lack of practice) on an actual board and we have been playing occasionally ever since. Me pretty badly, him with admirable patience and didactic passion. He has often tried to get me to do some exercises by learning how to get out of tricky situations or to checkmate him. I have mostly politely declined as this is so not my preferred mode of learning. I want to experiment (even if it doesn't work out) and learn by doing, not by discipline and memorising. You could argue that I'm simply lazy (I won't disagree) but anything that reminds me in the slightest of maths or other Science formulas makes my brain freeze and prevents me from actually learning anything. Also, I am easily triggered by (even well-meant and not patronising at all) mansplaining and wanted to scream in frustration when a nerdy colleague at the Firm would immediately leap at a whiteboard or flipchart when you asked him any kind of question to draw some elaborate charts or diagrams. I just wanted a brief and simple answer, not an info-graphic even though his penmanship and drawing skills were admirable. When playing a game, I want to understand the rules and then just go for it and try to gradually improve by learning from my mistakes.