> in response to actual problems, instead of hypothetically in response to imagined problems.

This is really one of the differences indeed and you stated it very well, and you are right, stated this way we are saying a very similar thing. Also I think this other sentence from your comment is very interesting:

> part of being an expert is knowing what to throw away and what to keep.

So now the picture I get is that the real difference is selectiveness: about what design to pick among the possible, what problem is worth to fix, what experience is worth to remember.

Thanks for the interesting comment.