My learning style is exactly the same way, I can barely memorize four-character strings unless I can find some sort of mnemonic pattern, but abstract concepts are quick and easy. In a surprise twist of fate, that's why engineering was utterly impenetrable to me in school, while mathematics (my major) was a breeze. I think it has to do with the method of teaching. My required intro engineering courses were rather practical, so I couldn't find enough theory to wrap my head around.

There's evidence that you're right about the correlation with upbringing. Someone did a study on elementary school children, teaching them basic one-digit multiplication, and the concepts of place value, and then had them invent their own algorithms for long multiplication rather than rote-memorize the standard one. The methods they invented were invariably less compact and required more work than the standard method, but the students also performed well above average on standardized tests for multiplication.

I suspect that the high-performing individuals in the "softer" disciplines like literary analysis also function in the same way, just on fluffier concepts and less rigorous abstractions.