Former teacher and educational entrepreneur Ana Lorena Fabrega recently shared a Twitter thread on
why memorization without meaning is useless. She provides some suggestions to combat this problem, so that's worth a read.
There certainly are rare times when straight memorization is beneficial. For example, I used to play online Scrabble against some of the best Scrabble players in the world. In that context, memorizing words and not knowing their meanings is not only encouraged, but it's crucial to improving and competing. But that's a rare exception to the rule.
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As Ana points out in her thread, children are often expected to remember things but aren't taught to solve problems or understand the reasons behind the things they're learning.
I find this can also be the case for anyone trying to learn a new technology. For example, a programming language or some kind of library or framework. It's common to learn the syntax but sometimes the underlying concepts that string everything together are lost on the learner.
In my view, to ensure a better long-term future in a tech career (and this might apply to other fields as well), don't just depend on rote memorization. Understand the underlying principles. Go past the surface knowledge of the technology and get to the point where you can not only use the tech, but you can explain it understandably to others.
Now on to this week's hand-picked productivity links!
