Lee Sau Dan ~{@nJX6X~} <sdlee at faith.csis.hku.hk> wrote in message
news:7fn1s796up.fsf at faith.csis.hku.hk...
> >>>>> "Alan" == Alan Roth <alan42 at mindspring.com> writes:
[...]
>> Alan> I find rote memorization useless for most of what I have
> Alan> done professionally (as a computer programmer). If I were a
> Alan> Shakespearean actor I would memorize plays--I am not one.
>> As a programmer, you've already memorized many things. You're just
> not aware of it. Whatever language you're programming (C? C++? Java?
> Perl? AWK? Lisp? Scheme? Prolog? Assembly? Basic? Pascal?), you need
> to memorize its grammatical rules as well as vocabulary (i.e. reserved
> words or key words). Even the simpliest general purpose computer
> language have dozens of grammatical rules and dozens of reserved
> words/symbols. Moreover, solely the grammar is not sufficient. You
> still need to memorize the semantics of a large amount of API/system
> library calls. As a professional programmer, you should be able to
> recall no less than 100 such API functions without going back to the
> manuals, can't you?
My point is comparable to test-taking examples. In thermodynamics in
college there was one basic formula that every other formula could be
derived from, with a little calculus. Instead of memorizing 8 or 10
formulae, I used calculus. I got lower grades than I might have, but I
had less to stuff into my limited memory.
This is, in itself, an issue--memory is not infinite and it seems
that we get too easily embroiled in detail if we always memorize detail.
Actually, I am trying to change professions because it is unseemly for
someone who is over 50 to be involved in technical details all of the
time. Judgment requires a broader scope to play itself out.
>>> Alan> So what is the point? I still find it
> Alan> surprising (and admirable) that someone would take on the
> Alan> task of memorizing pi, but I am not inclined to do it
> Alan> myself.
>> There are at least a few guys who claim that they have recited pi up
> to 1000+ decimal places. Quite many people have memorized pi up to
> 100+ decimal places. I don't think this has any practical use. It's
> just personal interest.
>>> Alan> Is this a character flaw?
>> I don't think so. You don't have to do everything that you're capable
> of. However, failing to notice your abilities and potentials is
> certainly a weakness.
I hate to disappoint, but I have never found that my self-development is
something for public scrutiny. I have gone off in my own directions,
gained much, but would hate to have to explain why and how to another
who was not similarly attuned.
Alan
> Lee Sau Dan $(0,X)wAV(B(Big5)
~{@nJX6X~}(HZ)
>.-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-----.
> | http://www.cs.hku.hk/~sdlee e-mail:
sdlee at csis.hku.hk |
>`-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-----'
