From the video vs your write up, it sounds like you it might be helpful to find a few other people to discuss your theories with them.
As for learn about an undocumented topic without just "spotting patterns" - that's a much broader / longer discussion. I've been a part of and adjacent to a few groups in that have done this professionally and the answer is mundane - think really hard about incentives and actually do the spotting of the patterns in a way where you aren't lying to yourself. If you do it in a group you can find ways to test things faster than just doing it by yourself.
As to where to find people people interested in this, maybe check out youtube channels just under the YouTube Partner Program eligibility. Which means they'll be hungry to try to get over the hurdle. As you work with people you'll slowly see who is serious and you can try to focus on working with them more closely.