I graduated from a liberal arts college in 1986, math + physics major. In virtually all of the courses that I took, rote memorization by itself was of limited u

I graduated from a liberal arts college in 1986, math + physics major. In virtually all of the courses that I took, rote memorization by itself was of limited usefulness on the exams -- certainly not sufficient to get a good grade. Many years later I taught a couple of college courses, and noticed that the students who focused on memorization, also had the weakest grasp of the subject matter, and often did the worst on the exams. My own grades had their ups and downs for various reasons, but when I finally hit my stride, it was with the realization that sufficient memorization would occur as a natural consequence of the work needed to understand the subject matter. Being able to search for information only gets you so far. Imagine reviewing a design or proposal, or engaging in a technical discussion, if you have no domain knowledge. Have you ever seen a non technical manager try to bluff their way through a technical meeting?