He's talking about people's everyday understanding of data structures, including his own. That the data structure he described already existed when he banged it out is beside the point; most folks don't know about it, most CS programs don't teach it, and most software doesn't use it.
That's sort of like saying, "Well, all special relativity does is show Einstein's ignorance of Lorentz's work."
It's true in some sense, but ultimately an unproductive sentiment.