"Issue spotting" is what I was taught

In Why Better Bar Exams are Not the Answer the author (who certainly knows more than I do since he teaches law) is that

the bar exam requires applicants to memorize thousands of rules that most lawyers will never use

"Issue spotting" not "memorization" is what I was taught. I have taken (and passed) only one bar exam but I remember nothing about learning about memorizing “thousands of rules.” In fact the bar review course told us explicitly that learning rules was irrelevant and that the bar exam was about issue spotting, not getting the rule. The idea was that no way could a lawyer in practice remember every law and that the crucial task was to know enough to recognize a potential issue so as review the statute or case etc. Issue spotting, not memorization of rules, was the whole task of passing the bar exam. I thought it made sense to me and that as a client I have seen that good doctors, architects, engineers, accountants and in fact every skilled practioner such as auto mechanics and plumbers have the same mindset. Or did I pass the bar exam purely by accident?