[kleinsch]

There’s a bunch of theory that goes into understanding why a tritone sub works for a Dom7 for the 5 chord, but it’s not something you think about when you’re using it. You learn how it sounds and you start using it instinctively.

Other people can probably figure out better analogies, but I’d say it’s something like the difference reading an article about generics or monads vs actually using them every day. To an outsider these seem like a ton to think about, but when you use them every day they’re just part of your toolbox.