Similarly, "distinct" does not imply "many", merely "clearly distinguishable (from each other)". But used this way, it doesn't mean that either; it would be read as an alternative definition which leaves out the "from each other": "marked" or "notable". Thus this sentence, which is also somewhat non-idiomatic, interestingly suggests something quite distinct from the previous: it's not the number of interests that allows a person to talk on many subjects, but how readily you can distinguish his interests as his.