"When you have put a lot of ideas together to make an elaborate theory, you want to make sure, when explaining what it fits, that those things it fits are not just the things that gave you the idea for the theory; but that the finished theory makes something else come out right, in addition."

Intelligent people are good at pattern recognition and finding logical explanations for events: why BTC went up, why an election swung a certain way, what's happening in the economy.

For me, the main benefit of science is not that it can "explain" but that it can "predict". Next time you try to offer an explanation for something, ask yourself if your explanation can predict some events in the future.