I don't know about the specifics talked about here, but he's absolutely right that no matter how much raw talent you have, eventually you will find yourself facing a challenge that you can't beat. And at that point, if you want to keep improving, you will have to start learning the same kinds of engineering discipline and using the same kinds of external aids that everyone else has had to use all along.

I've seen a few people go through this process (and experienced it myself) at various stages in their careers and everyone has a rough patch after hitting that wall. Eventually they admit that what they've been doing is no longer working, and they become better engineers because of it. But it's tough when you're in the middle of it, and for a while your work definitely suffers.