[baash05]

In University I had a prof that gave us 600 facts at the start of the year. All printed and easy to read. Each class we went over a few of them.

He said if you mastered 100% you'd get 100% on the exam. He would pick from the lot and that's the exam question.

His reasoning was. These are the basics, we were all smart, and we could use the basics to go beyond them. But only if we had them.

20+ years later and I still remember most of the things in that class. I can still write code in assembly (8086). I don't need to, but I have the knowledge, and it's helped shape my code.

[RugnirViking]

This is honestly so important. Almost every issue or confusion I have had while studying is because I didn't remember or never learned a fact from "the basics". Over time I like to think I've corrected most of them, but only by finding and saving high-quality references that help me learn them again quickly - although ironically the process of conciously doing that usually means I no longer need the reference!

[Buttons840]

I avoided memorizing mathematics for a long time, but eventually created some spaced-repetition flash cards about math. I find the math I have memorized gives me something to reason about. While I'm in the shower, for example, I can think about stuff I've memorized and gain deeper insight. The memorized facts are hooks upon which I can hang new knowledge.

[hef19898]

Sounds like a great prof. Mastering the basics cannot be overstated, if you ask me. Everything else can build upon those basics, worst case it can just be looked up when needed.

[throwaway98797]

what were the facts?