From: "JACK L. URETSKY (C) 1996; HEP DIV., ARGONNE NATIONAL LAB, ARGONNE, IL 60439" <JLU@hep.anl.gov>
Date: Sat, 22 Feb 1997 20:21:16 -0600 (CST)
Hi all-
Ray Rogoway asks an interesting question:
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Let's face it, if you need an equation you can't remember you look it
up. If you use a relationship long enough you know it. Why require
memorization?
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Here are some answers:
1. Because it's part of your culture and you'll need it every day
(like: what's one plus one?).
2. Because you can derive it from things like "1.", so it will
improve your brain (add synapses) to learn the derivation.
3. So you can make other people's discoveries your own
(like: how do you prove the "pythagorean" theorem).
4. So you can appear to be bright
(bright people seem to have extraordinary memory of facts).
On the other hand, I don't make students learn definitions,
because these are arbitrary. I provide these on tests (like the
definition of capacitance).
Regards,
Jack