From a recent debate with a Muslim:
Umm every historian ever agrees with the fact that the Prophet never met any scientist nor scholar ever. Look it up instead of questioning everything without researching any of my claims.
So, any pointers on whether this is generally accepted?
This is generally accepted for before the revelation (i.e age 40). There weren't really much Christians or Jews and so not many scholars in Mecca. There were Jews in Madina. After he became a ruler, it is natural that delegations of Jews and Christians came to meet him.