I'm not convinced by this closet analogy for subject matter experts. Domain experts tend to have fully integrated, very differentiated and subjective ways to think about what they do.

It's not like a pile either but I think more like a network of associations, a mesh. When you hear chess grandmasters talk, they don't go by "the rook is worth 5 and the knight is worth 3 points" or some neat system, they trust on intuition that often brings together particular positions, old games, calculation and so on. Just like an expert programmer doesn't sit there with her copy of the Gang of Four in hand.

Experts often don't really think as much as they simply do, and they're process oriented. Which I think is also more important to teach.

The difference is that you can not empty your brain in order to reorganize it. You need to perform an in-place sort.

If anybody wants to read a more fleshed out description of this same concept, but without the mental limitation of being stuck in a small closet, they should research the method of loci also popularly known as the 'memory palace.'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_of_loci

I think it's an oversimplification to argue that the mind as a whole is like a closet, but I do think memory specifically works a bit in this way--hence the well-established utility of memory palace methods. Giordano Bruno's memory garden idea is something I've been working on, but it does take time to put in place.