The Feynman Lectures on Physics question

Is it better to memorize the tables, or fundemental principles when studying Physics? The Feynman Course is decidedly on the latter pattern for learning. The book is a demonstration of the power of understanding FUNDEMENTAL notions of physics, then relating these notions to their historical, and functional role within the dicipline, in the interest of time I will be brief , and relate the fundementals of this work through a small occasional guide called "Feynman Tips on Physics" . You must attain a profieciency in mathematics to the level of Differential and Integral calculus to understand various transformations and physical descriptions, inspite of this reccommendation by the author, I found the work remarkably accessible, I found my wholly unspecialized experience with mathematics adequet. It helps to understand the integral concept of "chain rule" but steady algebra allows for a good read