> Albert Einstein urged us “don’t memorize what you can already look up.”

I find it ironic to go from "Our education system is stuck in the past" to sharing a quote without even checking if it's true. I find at least a few sources saying that it is not.

Anyway, why is it stuck in the past? They say:

> We still ask kids to memorize and regurgitate information from textbooks.

Memorising is extremely important. And learning to memorise is most definitely part of the education. Is it useless to know a poem by heart? Let's assume it is (but I disagree). What is certainly useful is to learn how to memorise something. Be it a poem, maths or a language.

Whether we want it or not we memorise stuff all the time. That's pretty much how we interact with the world. The people who are better at memorising have an advantage over the others. It is an important skill.

I would say this: memorising is very important, but it's not enough. You have to understand what you memorise. And memorise what you understand. It's a loop.

> What Every Parent Should Know About the AI Future

The article uses a lot of word to... not say much. TL;DR: help your children finding what they like and help them learn. I can agree with that, no need to tell me it came from Einstein.

> Our education system is stuck in the past. We still ask kids to memorize and regurgitate information from textbooks. Well before the internet put the world’s information in our pockets, Albert Einstein urged us “don’t memorize what you can already look up.”

You can look up how to ride a bike, play a violin, or cook a meal for 200 people. But knowing about something isn’t the same as being able to do it. A good library or even Google can give you knowledge. But only practice gives you competence.

When you deal with anyone who knows their job, things are on their finger tips. That comes from Practice.

Practice, feedback, and iteration matter more than just information access.

So it is not about memorization and regurgitation. Its about deliberate practice being required for competence or skill development.

Herbert Simon (Turing+Nobel awardee + pedagogist) had more relevant thoughts on this than Einstein, who brilliant as he was, wasn’t an expert in education.

Here's his famous quote on the subject - "The criticism of practice called drill and kill, is prominent in constructivist writings. Nothing flies more in the face of the last 20 years of research than the assertion that PRACTICE is bad. All evidence, from the laboratory and from extensive case studies of professionals, indicates that real competence only comes with extensive practice. In denying the critical role of practice one is denying children the very thing they need to achieve real competence. The instructional task is not to "kill" motivation by demanding drill, but to find tasks that provide practice while at the same time sustaining interest."

Don't tell your kids memorization has no value. Instead tell them to use AI to stay motivated when interest in Practice dips.

There is an optimal amount of memorization for any context and it shifts over time. If I have to repeatedly look up a formula, sooner or later I will remember it. Memorization is like breathing, it’s important but not something to focus on.