Look, he really stresses this idea of "intent". Making a decision as to what notes you're going to play BEFORE you actually play them. In photography this is called "previsualization"...understanding what the final photograph will look like before you release the shutter.
You can't make the decision to follow or break the rules until you actually know the rules. Once the "knowledge"/theory becomes intrinsic, and you don't need to consciously think about it, THEN you can play with feeling and it will actually be meaningful...and beautiful.
It took me 50 years of playing like a dork until it finally hit me that in order to play "good" I needed to know some theory. I kick myself every day because I never learned how to play what I wanted to play.
Yes, playing only with theory (and no feeling), or fitting in 500 notes per measure like a lot of shredders do these days, isn't very appealing or lasting. But playing with lots of feeling and emotion, but hitting the "wrong" notes, is also not very endearing nor enduring. It's very rare to find a truly great guitarist that doesn't have and master both.
I really wish I had a good knowledge of theory. And I wish I had the coordination of a shredder. I have the feeling, but I need more theory and coordination. I'll never be more than mediocre without them.
