While this isn’t at all what the article is about, I think phrases like “knowledge without understanding is meaningless” are a bit dangerous out of context, bec

While this isn’t at all what the article is about, I think phrases like “knowledge without understanding is meaningless” are a bit dangerous out of context, because they imply that rote learning is bad. Furnishing your brain with a library of facts on a subject means it now has more items to make connections between, which is what allows understanding to develop. These days, when I’m learning something new, I’ll try to accumulate as many basic facts as possible. Subjects that seem impenetrable can often be conquered in this way. The more connections you can make, the faster you can develop an understanding, and the more creative you can eventually become.