Yes, no -- depends upon the level and what is being taught. At the college level, being able to know and find is more important. At the elementary level some things really do need to be taught by rote, committed to memory, and made so commonplace that you don't have to really think about them (kinda like driving a car). Unfortunately, a lot of curriculum/pedagogy 'specialists' have taken the tack that memory learning is not good even at the kindergarten level...and thus we have kids who can't do basic math or spelling/grammar...who turn into adults who really can't do it well either.