I think this is just a difference in terminology -- I don't think of this as memorizing, but rather as learning. When I think of memorizing, I think of someone going through a pile of flash cards or something and repeating them over and over again until their contents are a list of facts crammed into the person's head.

That said, we're saying the same thing -- rote memorization without applied knowledge isn't worth anything. Learning by doing is the way to go.