There are also plenty of other subtle concepts which are easily and frequently misunderstood, even by people with degrees and publications in the field. (Just look at some of the statistics-related criticisms here...) Are there any good ways for an autodidact to avoid making such mistakes?

Look for informal forums where actual professionals from the field hang out (like computer science forums for example, or blogs of scientists), and try to catch them complaining about people constantly misusing some term?