osmosis

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)The net movement of solvent molecules, usually water, from a region of lower solute concentration to a region of higher solute concentration through a partially permeable membrane.
2. (countable, figuratively, uncountable)Passive absorption or impartation of information, habits, etc.; the process of teaching or learning particular knowledge incidentally rather than consciously.

   “Near-synonym: serendipity”

   “I was reading about chickens, and I guess I learned about hawks through osmosis.”

   “At age fourteen, by a process of osmosis, of dirty jokes, whispered secrets and filthy ballads, Tristram learned of sex.”