[vubui]

You can't forget something if you understood it. A concept is internalized when one understood the concept. Techniques to memorize something is not effective. Even worse techniques are glorified. Then one spends a lifetime polishing the techniques to memorize what they wanted to internalize in the first place. It's a trap.

Want to memorize something? Try to really understand what's going on. You cannot forget something if you already understood it. If you can't recall it, then maybe it's not that helpful to you or you didn't understand it in the first place at all.

The techniques to memorize something effectively are organic, an effect when someone tries to learn in their own way effectively. Starting with techniques is a trap.

How many people who have used Anki or whatever forms of memorization became world class at what they do? It's a distraction.

[fartcannon]

I tried this technique in university. I ended up with B's and C's while my friends, who just memorized the exams, got magna cum laude.

Granted, I may have just been too slow to really understand the material in time for the exams, but it's worth mentioning that sometimes its better for your life to just memorize things.

[boppo1]

This makes two of us. "I'll just strive to understand well" didn't get me very good grades vs taking the time to memorize. It felt like I kept some sort of integrity, but really I probably would have even wound up with a better understanding if I had memorized.

This thread marks me giving in and admitting my stubborn philosophy didn't work.

[rahimnathwani]

This may (may!) be true for something like math concepts that build on one another.

But in OP's example, much of the CFA and CAIA is about man-made concepts, taxes and government regulations. What does 'understanding' even mean in this context? If you 'understood' what rule XYZ means about the fiduciary duty of a financial advisor, does that mean you'll always remember it, or be able to derive it from first principles, even 20 years in future?

[Jensson]

You learn what the structure of tax logic look like so you know what kinds of regulations to expect and look for. It isn't like rules doesn't change in 20 years, but the way those rules are structured probably didn't change much.

So basically before learning you have to look up the entire logic, after learning it is like looking up a table and go through each point.

[gremloni]

I feel like this has been said a lot and only works in very specific disciplines like physics and maybe math. Just grasping concepts isn’t always sufficient and memorization is underestimated.