I just read this great article about memorization, in summary: what sort of role should memorization play in the classroom?
It got me thinking about my own memorization skills. There are some things that I will never forget -- like the quadratic formula, or Cicero's first catilinarian oration -- and there are other things that I can't seem to remember even if I pay of team of inceptors to place it into my unconscious brain -- like the discriminant for a quadratic extensions.
For things I can't remember, I write notes to myself. All over my computer are folders called "notes_[some topic]" where I write myself concise and friendly messages, usually in the form of an ordered list. To remind me what a discriminant should look like, how primes split in cyclotomic extensions, how to ssh onto my department server, which busses take me to Squirrel Hill, and the list goes on. It makes me feel a little less Raymond Babbitt, and a little more Guy Pierce...but hey, it works.
Not only does it work, but as the aforementioned article points out, putting these documents together gave me a chance to think really concisely about what it is I want to say about discriminants/cyclotomics/Pittsburgh busses.
If somebody stops me on the street and demands that I explain how to ssh onto the department servers, well, I would have nothing for him. But when it comes time for me to do it, I have personally culled the resources to make this doable. Does it make me a less worthy person that I can't remember it on the fly? I'm not sure it does.
So, to bring this back to students, is seems unreasonable that I demand that they memorize everything when I use so many "cheat sheets" in my own life. And in fact, the practice of building "cheat sheets" has been personally so enriching for me, it seems almost counter-productive to discourage others from doing the same.
Now, I was going to draw some grand conclusion about my philosophy on pedagogy...but I can't remember what it was...
<3
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