The arrow doesn't go one way. Understanding and fluency go hand in hand. When you have all of the theorems and techniques at your fingertips, understanding actu

The arrow doesn't go one way. Understanding and fluency go hand in hand. When you have all of the theorems and techniques at your fingertips, understanding actually is easier. And vice versa. But "understanding" on its own doesn't allow you to reproduce a textbook full of theorems, you have to actually study and memorize at least a bit.