&quot;Proofs are more important than memorizing a formula and forgetting it after a couple of month.&quot;<p>I didn&#x27;t go to Berkeley, but I had exams like this - you could pass them without actually understanding the material by memorising everything in sight.  Quoting a proof doesn&#x27;t show that you have any in-depth grasp of the concepts, that you can actually apply them to a problem you haven&#x27;t seen before.