There’s lots of things that need to be “known”. That’s what education is for. But there are very, very few things that need to be merely *memorized*. Any information you actually need doesn’t need to be memorized; it needs to be *understood*. Understanding is useful. Memorization is a parlor trick. Having the details available to look up and double-check obviates memorization, but not understanding. Simple example from 20th century world history: What was the primary cause of World War I? If “entangling alliances” springs immediately to mind, your education on this era was typical—that exact phrase is used in most textbooks that cover the topic. But if you don’t know *how* those alliances turned the assassination of a nobleman into a globe-spanning conflagration, then “entangling alliances” is just another memorized phrase, without meaning or value.

Me? I've always been good at those tests, simply because I was gifted to be a natural speed reader with (passed multiple tests of this from preschool to postgrad, Mensa, stuff yer disbelief) over 95% comprehension and 85% retention. Of anything I read, and I read everything. But what helps me most was learning how to define problems, then create solutions. Fast reading and great memory isn't nearly as good as basic problem solving, which CAN, and should be core curriculum at every level. Couldn't tell you Pandas how many times I've been asked how I knew something, and seen the looks when I admitted I didn't, but figured it out. Sigh.

And for those Pandas interested in really increasing your reading speed and comprehension/retention: Stop pronouncing the words in your head as you read. It takes real work and daily effort, but when you hit the breakthrough, it will be an earthmoving epiphany. Trust me, and try. You'll be blown away by how fast you can assimilate information when you cut out the internal narrative.

I'm not advocating for "mere" memorization. I'm advocating for memorization as a starting point.

Actually, I wouldn't. Most developers learn the necessary skills *on the job*. Sure, there are basics (the equivalent to knowing the alphabet!), but a majority of the theory in computer science is not used in development unless said developer is in a *very* specialized role. You literally said you don't know anything about programming. Another commenter referenced Stack Overflow. That answers your question.

That whole "Sure, there are the basics" completely undermines your argument. You're equivocating to say on one hand that memorization is pointless, and then on the other that there it is necessary, but that it doesn't count for some reason. How can you reconcile first saying, "...nobody expects anything to be memorized," and then saying, "Sure, there are the basics"? You're acknowledging my point: That there is ABSOLUTELY information that must be memorized.

So, you remember the content of every test you ever took from kindergarten to 12th grade? Interesting.

I retain that knowledge, yes. And from college and grad school. I don't have the tests themselves memorized, but if you presented them, I would pass them. 💯

It's the application of WHAT to real life?

Seriously? Its being able to retain and recall information over the long-term so it can be accessed and used later in situations that require it.

No, that's what you do with knowledge, not what knowledge IS. I was curious about whether you had a good point, but you don't. Look, in order to be able to access and use knowledge, you have to KNOW it first, right? So, teachers (being the people responsible for ensuring that students gain knowledge they'll one day need) ought to make sure that they do in fact KNOW things. Kinda makes sense, doesn't it, to require them to demonstrate that they have taken possession of a bunch of facts?

Memorization *by itself* is not learning. What you “know”, you can use only because you *understand* it. Remembering that the Gettysburg Address opens with, “Four score and seven years ago,” is pointless if you can’t explain that a score is twenty, four score and seven is 87, and 87 years prior to the Gettysburg Address was 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was signed. Knowing those interpretations is not mere memorization. Literally the only subject in US primary and secondary education that is just memorization is spelling, and that’s because the English language is a bastardized amalgamation of bits of every language it’s run into. In everything else, understanding is necessary for what you’ve memorized to have any real value.

Before understanding, there must be knowledge. It's the starting point.

Well. That's ironic. Foot for dinner. 🤷‍♂️

Lol, you're funny, and humble enough to admit not knowing something. You're a rare breed 👍

It's slang, the "spelling" isn't established. And people who speak in that matter generally don't care about the finer points of language and it's usage anyway.

Only if you want it to be- it's slang, not established language.

Right. You have to have a feel for the numbers, or they're not really yours.