You say “oh wow learning underwater beekeeping would be really cool! I once had to learn to manage an ant circus. I learned how to do this on my own, here’s how… I imagine they’d be really similar in X, Y, Z ways. But probably different A, B, C ways.”
You give a thoughtful, enthusiastic response that emphasizes your love of learning, your humility, and highlights analogous experiences. No bullshitting needed at all.
Sorry, this still doesn't answer my question. What are we giving a response to? A job application or an interview? OP says they're getting passed up since they don't fit the checkboxes.
The above advice is sound and addresses OP's post content as much as it needs to. Try taking a holistic view of the comment you're poking at by integrating it with everything else that's been recommended above and a path forward for OP and similarly concerned people clearly begins to show itself.
You give a thoughtful, enthusiastic response that emphasizes your love of learning, your humility, and highlights analogous experiences. No bullshitting needed at all.