To learn or understand something with unusual speed and ease.
This phrase uses the physical metaphor of picking up an object, suggesting that knowledge can be grasped as easily as lifting something from the ground. The usage dates to the early 1800s when 'pick up' began extending from literal gathering to acquiring skills or information.
The phrase cleverly implies that some knowledge just lies there waiting to be collected, like fruit fallen from a tree, while other learning requires more effort - like climbing the tree itself. It's a wonderfully optimistic view of human learning capacity!
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