formalism, consciousness and understanding
In a formal (deductive) subject, the level of competency correlates with the depth of non-formalism one can display around the subject. (For instance, the mastery of a mathematician can only be gauged when he stops scribbling down mathematical notation, dives into conceptual vagueness and starts using real words.) In a non-formal (intuitive) subject, the level of competency correlates with the depth of formalism one can display around the subject.
Similarly, one can only understand the unconscious things using the consciousness and the conscious things using the unconsciousness. Due to the architecture of our brains we typically find the latter much easier to do. Our education system does not balance the scale neither. (Practicing lucid dreaming, meditation and improvisation can help.) We generally do not know how to open up and let our non-verbal intuitive brain reign, and do not care about the unconscious until it breaks down.