I think there's a very useless and useful way of memorizing, say, history or biology, and the useless way is probably better for passing exams, and the useful w

I think there's a very useless and useful way of memorizing, say, history or biology, and the useless way is probably better for passing exams, and the useful way is better for, everything else. The useless way is: let me memorize all of the dates of the US Presidents. If the question is "When did Ulysses Grant become President?" you remember it's 1869. The useful way is, let me learn about each Presidential administration and what baggage it inherited from the previous administration and passed onto the next one. Then, if the question is "When did Ulysses Grant become President?" you think, well Lincoln was assassinated shortly after the end of the Civil War in 1865, Johnson served out his term but definitely didn't get another, so Grant would have started in 1869.