I once heard a story about a lady who lost her husband and had no notable skills to speak of. A nice man offered to pay for her to learn as much as she could about ants and to send him all the info she learned as she did. 2 years later he published a book on all her observations. I don't know if the story is true, but if it is, it speaks to how you can study anything long enough and become an expert enough that your knowledge becomes a product.