I did qualify the statement with "not necessarily" and "often".
I agree that thinking outside the box may be a symptom of genius and/or creativity - in fact, it may be a requirement. And I agree that sometimes the person may know the box very well.
However, we also have creationists and other pseudo-science buffs urging us to think outside the box when they wouldn't recognize the box if it sat down beside them in church.
Learning the box does not require independent thinking. Learning the box is basically monkey see and monkey do. However, some boxes are very elaborate and very intricate and are not easy to copy, with few monkeys able to see and do. This is often why people leave the box; too much work to copy. Such boxes are often for showing off by prima donna. It is not designed for practical utility useful to all.
The box of simplicity is closest to perfection. Being simple makes it easy to monkey see and monkey do, allowing more people to participate, use, and brain storm. If the box gets too complicated, the majority have to depend on fewer and fewer people to tell everyone else what to think. The creative opinions of the masses are left out. At the same time, we don't know if the experts are only prima donna dancers who can copy and paste, but may not be real thinkers and applier; intellectual snob with little utility. They can dazzle us with song and dance, but may be unable to write a new song with the steps they have perfected.
As an analogy, say before we can eat, everyone needs to go through an elaborate social ritual of action and words that is quite complex and can take hours for the uncoordinated to perform, poorly, but maybe 10 min for the prima donna monkeys to do to perfection. This much song and dance is not needed to eat, except via the subjective pressures of traditions.
There are those who really good doing this, become the leaders who get to eat first. Some may asks, is this really necessary in terms of a useful system? Some leave the box in an attempt to make this easier so the rituals achieve the conclusion of eating. The ritual should never become the center stage.
When you go to college very little of the song and dance you learn applies to the needs of your real life 10 year out. This learning is part of the conditioning needed to be able to sing and dance in a superficial society. The entrepreneurs like Bill Gates leave that fancy box, narrowing down to what is most practical for their needs ten years down the line.
